Fautrier 1946

Jean Dubuffet made this portrait, Fautrier, in 1946. Look at how immediate the mark-making is, like he's trying to get something down as quickly as possible. It reminds me of my own process of trying to capture a feeling on canvas before it disappears. There's a rawness to it, a kind of unpretentious directness in the application of the charcoal, or whatever it is. It’s scrubbed, almost like he's using a dry brush, and there's a beautiful unevenness to the surface. It gives the whole thing a kind of earthy, grounded feel. I keep coming back to the mouth, just a simple line turned down slightly at the corners. It's so minimal, but it speaks volumes. Dubuffet was a big admirer of so-called ‘outsider art’ and you can really see that here, a kind of rejection of academic polish in favour of something more direct. It's like he's saying, let's get real, let's look at what's really there, beneath the surface.