The Outer Shore 1954

Stow Wengenroth made this lithograph, "The Outer Shore," with ink on paper. I can imagine Wengenroth, carefully hatching tiny lines to build up these rocks and the soft bodies of the gulls, one mark at a time. It’s not about bravado, but a kind of patient building, the kind of mark-making that feels so close to drawing. Look at the ways he suggests form and texture with such precision, like those rocks with their weathered surfaces. It reminds me of the drawings of Vija Celmins – the same stillness. I like how it's not splashy or loud; the drama is quieter, more internal. Those birds, at once still and in motion, remind me of the potential energy in a Cy Twombly drawing. You can feel the wind, smell the sea, and imagine the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks.