Bloem en blad c. 1916 - 1945

This is Reijer Stolk’s ‘Bloem en blad’, a drawing of a flower and a leaf. The skeletal remains of a botanical study, this has a particular graphic quality and linearity. Just look at the way the veins of the leaf have been translated into a series of parallel lines, a real system of diagrammatic notation. Each mark feels exploratory, a little hesitant, as if Stolk is feeling his way around the subject. And the paper itself, that slightly yellowed quality of old sketchbooks. There's a lovely contrast between the fragility of the lines and the assertiveness of the forms they define. It reminds me of the drawings of Ellsworth Kelly, who also had this amazing capacity for distilling observed forms into essential, graphic statements. Ultimately this piece embraces uncertainty, reminding us that art is less about definitive answers and more about the ongoing conversation between seeing, thinking, and doing.