Stonbridge in Prizren 1 2007

Gazmend Freitag made this drawing of Stonbridge in Prizren, with what looks like ink, maybe with a touch of wash to create those soft gray tones. The artist clearly knows this bridge well, look at the sureness of the lines! I love how the bridge takes up so much of the foreground, with those carefully described stone blocks. The artist has put real attention into the texture of those stones, you can almost feel the rough surface. And then, behind it, there’s this sketch of buildings fading into the background. It is all about mark-making, a kind of art that is rooted in the simple pleasure of looking. See how Freitag uses the thin lines to suggest the shapes and forms, letting the white of the paper do a lot of the work. The whole thing feels like a memory or a dream, captured in a fleeting moment. It reminds me a little bit of Piranesi's architectural etchings, with that same sense of atmosphere and detail. It is a form which embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations, rather than fixed or definitive meanings.