Sketch 1955

Curator: This is “Sketch” by Stuart Davis. Editor: It’s remarkably spare, almost like a child’s doodle, yet there’s a strange sense of rhythm established by the arrangement of the forms. Curator: Precisely! These aren’t just any forms, though. Davis often incorporated recognizable motifs, reflecting modern urban life and his passion for jazz. I see possible allusions to architecture, perhaps a window or building facade. Editor: I'm drawn to the immediacy of line, its almost impatient quality. Notice how Davis uses a single blue line to create depth. Is that perspective? Curator: Perhaps a kind of visual shorthand for spatial depth and for the rapid pace of modernity itself. These sketches often served as preparatory studies, distilling complex visual ideas into their most essential symbolic components. Editor: An interesting study in reduction and a testament to the power of suggestion. Curator: Exactly, it reminds us how much visual information we actually need to perceive a subject, and that is part of Davis’s genius.