Ontwerpen voor twee monogrammen c. 1901

Here we have two monogram designs by Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof, probably made with graphite on paper. You can see the trace of a drawing emerge, shift, and transform. I can imagine Dijsselhof, bending over his table, trying out different letter combinations, letting the shapes play off each other, adding floral motifs around the letterforms to soften the design. The materiality of drawing is so straightforward: the pencil, the paper, the hand, the eye… it all leads to a kind of intimacy. The pencil lines have a directness that feels very personal, like a little peek into the artist's mind. I am always in awe of people who can do this sort of thing – make such clean lines! Think of artists like Hilma af Klint or Agnes Martin who made similar kinds of geometrical drawings and forms. It’s all one big conversation, right?