Toast Rack c. 1939

Irene Lawson made this line drawing of a Toast Rack at some point during her long life. The beauty of line drawings is that they feel so immediate – a direct connection to the artist's hand. Looking closely, you can see where Lawson varied the pressure and speed of her pencil. The squiggly curves of the rack itself are drawn with an almost nervous energy, like a quick sketch. But then, the handle is rendered with a much steadier, deliberate hand, the shading giving it volume and weight. That handle almost looks like a Giacometti sculpture. The whole thing has this wonderful tension between precision and looseness. It's a humble subject, a humble medium, but the way Lawson brings it to life through subtle variations of line and tone elevates it to something really special. It reminds me of Agnes Martin’s drawings, where simple grids become meditations on space and light. Art is an ongoing conversation, right?