Gezicht op Enkhuizen met de stadspoort de Drommedaris 1900 - 1931

This is Willem Bastiaan Tholen’s sketch of the town of Enkhuizen, made with a pencil on paper. The first thing that jumps out is the quick, restless energy in the marks. It’s all about process, not product, right? Looking closer, you see how Tholen is feeling his way through the forms. He’s using these tiny hatched lines that layer up to describe the buildings, and the Drommedaris gate. It’s like he’s building a little world out of pure sensation, a world we can feel in our fingertips. Notice that zig-zaggy line defining the edge of a building, how it captures the way light fractures and dances. It reminds me of how Guston used to build forms out of short, hairy marks, like a visual stutter that creates a space for feeling and questioning. In both artists we see a conversation about vision, and a commitment to embracing uncertainty.