Drawing of Table 1936

Here we have Hans Westendorff’s ‘Drawing of Table’, likely made with pencil on paper. I love the idea of a drawing *of* a table, rather than *on* a table. The whole thing is a process, a set of plans. The drawing has a light touch, a lot of space around the form, and includes the measurements so the table can be made to scale. The artist’s hand is visible in the gentle unevenness of the lines. It makes me think about process and iteration, like when I’m working on a painting and trying to figure out the composition. The lines, especially the curves around the edge of the table, aren't quite perfect, which is lovely. There’s a parallel here with the way conceptual artists like Sol Lewitt would create sets of instructions for a work to be made. It’s all about the conversation, the exchange of ideas. I love the ambiguity of this drawing, that it could be both a plan and a work of art in itself.