Road to Kairouan, Tunisia 1970

Ivan Albright made this drawing, Road to Kairouan, Tunisia, in 1970, and it looks like he used pen and ink, maybe even some watercolor. You know, sometimes an artwork feels like a snapshot, but this feels more like a weather report! The surface is full of marks – dashes and dots accumulate to conjure a landscape, but it’s like a landscape seen through a screen or a veil. It's a broken image, full of atmosphere. Look at how Albright uses color; those touches of yellow and blue amongst the brown, they shimmer. It's not about describing what's there, but creating a feeling. Think of someone like Cy Twombly, with his scribbled surfaces and poetic touch. Art is a conversation, and Albright is adding his unique voice to the mix. It’s not about answers; it’s about the questions and the looking.