The Crisis 1981

Morteza Katouzian made "The Crisis", size 60 by 80 cm, with a muted palette and intricate lines. You know, it feels like looking at a drawing that's still figuring itself out, a work in progress, which is maybe the point. The way Katouzian renders the hands is incredible. The texture, the veins, the light catching on the knuckles – it's all so real. And then, just above, the rest of the figure is only described through the faintest of outlines. Also there's these dreamy clouds ghosting the figure's torso, like a memory. It's a stark contrast between the hyper-realistic and the barely-there, which really gets you thinking about how much information we actually need to feel something. It feels unfinished, like a drawing by Giacometti. This kind of ambiguity, this hesitancy, is what makes art so alive, isn't it?