Vajda Lajos Magába Néző 1938 1938

Vajda Lajos made this drawing, titled "Vajda Lajos Looking Into Himself" in 1938, and you can see how the title relates to the marks and forms he's created. The monochromatic palette is pretty sober, but there is a real energy in the mark making, areas of frenetic hatching that define the forms. The process feels immediate, like a kind of visual thinking. The texture and physicality of the medium are really present, too, especially in the contrast between the dense, worked areas and the blank spaces left untouched. Those blank spaces are like breath. Take a look at the form on the left; the lines almost seem to be pulling inward, suggesting a kind of collapsing or imploding. This relates to the title of the piece, maybe, that feeling of introspection or self-absorption. It reminds me a little of the early drawings of Philip Guston, who was also interested in the psychology of form. There's no single way to interpret this piece, and its openness is part of its strength.