Bosrand 1939 - 2009

Kees Stoop made this drawing of a "Bosrand", or edge of the woods, with crayon on paper. Look at the marks: they build up to describe the scene, but it’s the energy of the making that really grabs you. Up close, you see how Stoop used the crayon to create different textures. In the foliage, the marks are dense, layered, almost chaotic. Then, in the foreground, they become more sparse, more regular, suggesting a different kind of space, a meadow perhaps. See how the crayon sits on the surface of the paper, creating a kind of relief? It reminds me of a kind of dance across the page, building up a world, mark by mark. It reminds me of drawings by Alfred Kubin, who was similarly obsessed with nature and the weirdness that lies beneath the surface of things. But where Kubin goes for the grotesque, Stoop finds a quiet, meditative space. These artists make me think of artmaking as an ongoing conversation, each artist picking up the thread and weaving it into something new.