Nila Cohen 2017

Gazmend Freitag made this portrait of Nila Cohen using delicate marks in sanguine pencil on paper. Imagine Freitag’s process, the movement of his hand and the pressure of the pencil as he coaxes Nila’s image into being. I can almost feel the grain of the paper under my own fingertips. You can sense the energy of the artist, especially in the quick, light strokes used for the hair. It’s a tender, almost shy portrayal, focusing on the subject's gaze. The shadows under the eyes and the soft modelling of the face capture a sense of vulnerability and introspection. The single color adds to the sense of immediacy, like a quick study dashed off in a moment of intense connection. It reminds me of other drawings by artists such as Käthe Kollwitz who sought to capture the essence of humanity with direct, unadorned lines. Every artist is having a conversation with artists from the past as well as with their contemporaries! We are all trying to see something and then share it. It’s a beautiful, never ending game.