Fantasy c. 1950s

William Charles Libby made this piece, Fantasy, using graphite on paper. The artist’s process is apparent in the almost obsessive mark-making, and the commitment to rendering the tonal variations in graphite, which create depth and volume. I love the way the carousel horses emerge from a background of overlapping geometric forms, creating a sense of movement and instability. Each horse is rendered with precision. Look at the details of the harnesses, the flowing manes, and the playful expressions on their faces. These are set against the hard lines of the abstract forms. That contrast between the organic shapes of the horses and the geometric background gives the piece an edgy, almost surreal quality. It reminds me a little of some of the early cubist paintings. The longer you look, the more the image seems to transform. This tension between representation and abstraction is like an ongoing dialogue, a kind of visual jazz. It reminds us that art is always a conversation, an exchange of ideas across time.