Untitled, No. 2 c. 1930

Virginia Berresford made this untitled drawing, No. 2, with what looks like graphite on paper, and it’s all about the subtle dance of light and form. It's as if she's feeling her way through the subject. You can sense her process of discovery, that building slowly emerging from the page. Look at how the surface is built up from tiny hatched marks. It's so delicate, almost like she's whispering the building into existence. And the texture! Those soft gradations of tone create an atmosphere. The shadow under the building feels dense, anchoring the whole thing. There’s a ladder on the right. It fades at the top as if it’s dissolving into the atmosphere. It feels like it might lead you somewhere, but somewhere unreachable. Berresford’s drawing reminds me a little of Agnes Martin's ethereal landscapes. They both have this way of suggesting space and form with the lightest of touches. This piece invites us to linger in that space between seeing and feeling, where meaning is always shifting.