Figures in Space #2 1949

Louis Schanker’s pen and ink drawing offers a glimpse into a world of abstract figuration, full of lines that weave and intersect like thoughts in motion. Imagine Schanker at work, perhaps in a New York studio, the pen dancing across the paper. See how the lines build up, creating volume and suggesting forms that are both familiar and strange. The human figures seem to be in the middle of a story— or perhaps an argument— with a surreal sense of spatial depth. There is a nod to cubism in the fragmented shapes and multiple perspectives, as well as to the organic abstraction of artists like Kandinsky. But Schanker brings a distinctly American energy to it all. I like to think about how artists like Schanker were not just making images, but also participating in a larger conversation about what painting, and art could be. They inspire each other across time. And it makes you wonder, what's the next step in this ever-evolving game of visual expression?