Untitled 1999

Atsuko Tanaka made this untitled work with colored pencils and graphite, creating a world that feels both playful and deliberate. The surface is alive with scribbled circles, each filled with a different hue, all jostling for space, interconnected by wandering lines. It’s a real testament to art-making as a process. It's like Tanaka’s mind at work, ideas bouncing around and connecting in unexpected ways. You can almost feel the pressure of the pencil on the page, the way she layers the colors to build up these rich, vibrant orbs. Look at the bottom left circle; it’s a riot of blues and purples and yellows, a sort of microcosm of the whole piece. And the way the lines connect the circles is like a network of thoughts, a flow of energy. Tanaka’s work reminds me a bit of Hilma af Klint, especially in the way both artists use abstraction to map inner landscapes. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art doesn’t need to be pinned down; it can be a space for endless exploration and interpretation.