The Struggle of Mankind 1989

Carlos Almaraz made this pastel drawing called ‘The Struggle of Mankind’ using a mix of expressive marks and smudged colour, building the image in layers. You can really feel his hand moving across the paper. The blue-green ground makes the figures pop. Look at the way Almaraz lays down the pastel, almost like he’s wrestling with the medium. The figures are built from these energetic strokes. The colours aren’t blended smoothly, but left raw, which gives the scene a kind of nervous energy. Check out the woman’s back – that one strong, curving line that defines her form is so confident. There’s something very real in this drawing, a raw portrayal of human entanglement. It reminds me of some of the drawings of Kathe Kollwitz, where line and tone are used to create a similar sense of drama. Almaraz isn’t trying to hide anything; he's embracing the messy, complicated nature of existence, and reminding us that art can be a space for questions, not just answers.