Old poplars 2012

Alfred Freddy Krupa made this ink drawing, called Old Poplars, and what strikes me is the pure, confident economy of means. Just look at the bold strokes of ink on this delicate paper! It's all about the dance between the brush and the surface, that push and pull that defines the process. The ink isn’t just on the paper, it's almost part of it, bleeding and breathing. I love the way the branches loop and swirl. They’re not just branches, they're like gestures, full of energy and movement. The texture is incredible, you can almost feel the grain of the paper and the flow of the ink. This piece reminds me of some of the landscape drawings by Dove, where he tries to capture not just what he sees, but what he feels when he sees it. With this image, Krupa is not only depicting trees, but also revealing something about the nature of seeing.