Untitled c. 1963

This untitled drawing, by George Bunker, is made with dark ink on a page torn from a notebook. It’s all about the gesture, the quickness of hand that you get when you just let your thoughts flow right onto the page. Look closely, and you’ll see these clusters of hatching, almost like scribbled nests. These darker, denser areas give weight to the composition, and they act as anchors for the more frenetic marks, like the looping lines that seem to dance above. The paper is almost like a stage, and the marks are these quirky characters performing some silent drama. The contrast between the dark ink and the off-white of the paper gives it an urgency, a sense of immediacy. I think of Cy Twombly, with his seemingly chaotic yet deeply considered compositions. But while Twombly's work feels epic, Bunker's has a more intimate, personal feel. It’s a reminder that art doesn’t always have to be grand or polished, sometimes it’s about capturing a fleeting thought, a raw feeling, a moment in time.