Rocky Cliffs c. 1970

Louis Lozowick made "Rocky Cliffs" with graphite on paper, using energetic, raw marks to conjure a sense of place. It’s as if Lozowick was possessed, channeling the spirit of the cliffs through his hand. I can see him, eyes darting between the subject and the page, trying to capture the way light dances on the rock face. The lines are immediate, like he’s trying to record something fleeting. There are loose scribbles, and then darker, more emphatic lines. You can almost feel the weight of the rocks! The texture feels rough, like it’s been weathered by time and wind. It makes me think about other artists who’ve tried to wrangle with nature, like Cezanne, or maybe even some of Guston’s later landscapes. Artists are always in conversation, riffing off each other, trying to figure out this crazy world. And it’s not about getting it ‘right,’ it’s about the looking, the questioning, the sheer act of trying. That's where the real juice is.