Drie motieven met torusknopen c. 1890 - 1922

Johanna van de Kamer made these three motifs with torus knots as studies, probably in a sketchbook. The pencil is soft, smudgy, and has a lovely range of greys. Looking at the way Van de Kamer uses the side of the pencil to create shadows is just gorgeous. I can almost feel the different textures she's trying to capture, from the smooth curves of the torus knots to the rougher edges of the paper. The attention to detail is remarkable; the subtle gradations of tone, the way she captures the play of light and shadow. It’s all about the process of looking, feeling, and translating that into marks on a page. I am reminded of the drawings of Hilma af Klint, another artist who was interested in the hidden structures of the world. Like Klint, Van de Kamer seems to be using drawing as a way to explore the underlying forms of reality, to uncover the secrets of the universe through the act of making marks. Ambiguity is where the juice is!