Untitled (Self-Portrait) 1929

Arshile Gorky made this untitled self-portrait with pencil and crayon on paper. Look at how the sketch emerges, tentatively, from the ground. It’s as if the image is in the process of becoming, constantly shifting and uncertain. You can see the textures, the smudges and soft lines of crayon, which feel incredibly intimate, like a fleeting glimpse into his studio. The mouth is just a smudge, and yet it suggests so much about the man. It makes me think about how Gorky was always wrestling with his influences, how he admired artists like Picasso, and how he tried to find his own voice through that struggle. For me, Gorky's work is always a reminder that art is a journey, not a destination. I’m thinking of other artists who take portraiture as a departure point, like Francis Picabia. Their playfulness reminds us that art isn't about answers, it's about the questions we ask.