Devils Sawing a Sinner 1914

Kazimir Malevich made this drawing, Devils Sawing a Sinner, with what looks like ink on paper. It's all about the marks, isn't it? Raw, direct, and unapologetically crude. You can almost feel Malevich's hand moving across the page, scratching out these devilish figures with a kind of frenzied energy. It’s a process laid bare. The heavy blacks are really something – so dense they almost swallow the figures whole, turning them into these ominous silhouettes. And the saw itself, with its jagged teeth and roughly hewn form, feels like a metaphor for the brutal act it depicts. I love the way the texture of the paper peeks through, adding a gritty quality to the whole thing. It reminds me of Goya. It’s not pretty, but it’s powerful. You get the sense that art isn't about polish or perfection, but about capturing something real, something visceral, in its most unvarnished form.