Sketch 1965

This sketch was made by Wols, sometime in the mid-twentieth century, with ink on paper. It’s a jumble of lines, but such deliberate ones. The scratchy marks and dense cross-hatching aren’t just scribbles, they’re a way of thinking through the drawing. You get the sense that he’s feeling his way through the process. Look at the cluster of lines near the center; they almost coalesce into a figure or a face, but not quite. There is a tension between representation and abstraction, where the image hovers between recognizable forms and pure, chaotic mark-making. The surface is alive with a nervous energy, as if the pen couldn't quite keep up with the artist’s thoughts. Wols reminds me of Paul Klee, in that both artists share a playful sensibility and a willingness to embrace the unpredictable nature of art-making. This sketch isn’t trying to tell us something specific, but rather inviting us to get lost in the ambiguity of the image. It’s about exploration, questioning, and the sheer joy of drawing.