Pine Trees 2004

Avigdor Arikha made this drawing of Pine Trees with crayon, and what strikes me is the immediacy and the vulnerability in the marks. The paper seems to grab the crayon, and the surface is so present, almost like the paper itself is part of the drawing. There's a real tactile quality here; you can almost feel the roughness of the crayon and paper, which creates a tension between the dense marks that describe the leaves and branches and the blank space that surrounds it. Look at the way Arikha uses these marks to create a sense of depth and volume, especially in the trunk of the tree. It’s like he’s wrestling with the form, trying to capture its essence with each stroke. Arikha's work reminds me of Morandi, especially in the way he isolates his subject and focuses on the subtle variations of light and shadow. Like Morandi, Arikha invites us to slow down and really see the world around us.