Untitled V 1954

Joseph Fiore made this 'Untitled V' print using ink on paper sometime in the mid-twentieth century. At first glance, it's a dense field of black marks. What I love about drawings like this is how they show the artist thinking through making. Fiore uses the ink to create a play of light and shadow, with varying densities of black. There's a beautiful area, towards the center, where a few soft, transparent washes overlap, almost like he was testing the consistency of the ink. Looking at the composition as a whole, you could say it's almost like a landscape, maybe a forest at night. The strokes are so physical, you can imagine the gesture of Fiore’s hand as he worked. This piece reminds me of work by Franz Kline, in that both artists used abstraction to distill essential forms and create bold, dynamic compositions. It's like Fiore is having a conversation across time with Kline, each exploring the possibilities of abstraction, offering different perspectives, and enriching our understanding of what art can be.