Flowers 1975

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this drawing of flowers with what looks like graphite, focusing on the bare minimum to evoke the image. It's all about reduction, isn't it? The materiality here is all about the trace: thin, delicate lines that barely register on the page. Look closely and you can see tiny variations in pressure, a slight trembling in the hand. It's a study in seeing how little is needed to say so much, a kind of visual haiku. It reminds me a little of Cy Twombly, that same sense of immediacy and vulnerability. Both artists show us that drawing can be a way of thinking, a way of feeling, a way of being in the world. It's not about perfection, it's about the process. And that’s what makes it so beautiful.