Untitled 1962

This untitled piece is by Richards Ruben. Just imagine him, in his studio, feeling the weight of the charcoal in his hand as he works on this drawing, letting his intuition guide the lines. I’m drawn to the contrasts here. You’ve got these delicate, almost skeletal figures sketched in thin lines. And then BAM, this chunky block of dark charcoal, grounded by horizontal marks and a streak of mustard yellow. It’s like Ruben is having a conversation between the ethereal and the grounded, the fleeting and the solid. The background stains and speckles create a sense of atmosphere. There's an echo of de Kooning in his lines, that same searching quality, but Ruben brings his own unique voice. It’s as if he's wrestling with form, trying to capture something just out of reach. It’s not about perfection, it’s about the energy of the gesture. That’s what makes it so alive, so human.