RIilke: Duino Elegies 1996

Maria Bozoky created this drawing, *Rilke: Duino Elegies*, on paper with ink and watercolor washes. I can see the artist searching for the form, as lines crisscross and overlap. I feel like she’s channeling someone, maybe Rilke himself, trying to capture an essence rather than a likeness. I love the way the pale washes create a ghostly effect. It's almost like a memory. I imagine Bozoky working quickly, responding to the flow of the ink and water, embracing chance and accident. It reminds me of the automatic drawings of the Surrealists. Her marks evoke inner states, making visible the invisible. She is in conversation with the Modernists, those artists who looked inward for inspiration. This piece demonstrates how artists build on the ideas of their predecessors. By leaving room for ambiguity and chance, she invites us to bring our own interpretations.