Untitled 1951

Seymour Lipton made this untitled sketch on paper using graphite. The layered marks give it a sculptural feel, even though it's just lines on a flat surface. The density of the hatching and cross-hatching creates volume and shadow. It's like he's thinking in three dimensions, building up the form with each stroke. Look at the oval on the left, filled with these tight, scribbled lines; it feels almost weighty, like you could reach out and touch it. And notice how the lines aren't perfect, they waver and overlap, giving the piece an energy, a sense of searching. It reminds me a bit of some of the drawings of Gaston Lachaise, that same interest in form and volume, but here, there's also this beautiful fragility, a sense of something still being worked out, still in process. It celebrates the art making journey.