Buttons c. 1936

This is a drawing, by Michael Fenga, of three buttons. The buttons sit within a frame on the page. You could say it's a study in seeing. It is so delicate; the tonal gradations are made with the most precise of marks. There's something about the simplicity and almost obsessive mark-making that gets to me. It feels like a meditation. Look at the rendering of each button, the gradations of tone, the play of light across the surface. The drawing style reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, where repetition and subtle variation create a sense of depth. What I love about art is that it's never really finished. It's always open to interpretation, always changing as we change. Like a conversation that never ends.