The Forest (White House) 2019

Robert Longo made this charcoal drawing, The Forest (White House), and it looks like the White House is about to be swallowed up by this intense, dramatic sky. The mark making is vigorous, energetic, like a storm, appropriate for the subject matter. The charcoal feels really physical here, like Longo was wrestling with the material, pushing and pulling the tones from the paper. Look at the way the charcoal is layered to create those brooding clouds, and how the stark white of the building contrasts with the darkness surrounding it. There's a real sense of tension in this image, a kind of unease that comes from the contrast between the solidity of the architecture and the wildness of the natural world. It makes you think about power, and fragility, and the forces that shape our world. I can’t help but think of the sublime landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich, but with a contemporary, almost cinematic edge. It’s this ongoing dialogue that keeps art alive, I think.