Untitled 1951

This ‘Untitled’ artwork by Hans Bellmer uses brown ink on paper in an ambiguous style. It's all about process, a kind of automatic drawing that reminds me of Surrealist practices, where the subconscious takes over. Look at the way Bellmer coaxes the ink. See how the texture of the paper is almost as important as the marks themselves? The color is earthy, like something unearthed, and the lines weave in and out of focus. The drawing is like a ghostly echo of figures and structures. Those vertical lines near the top, they create a tension, don't they? They could be anything – rigging on a ship or the frame of a building. The ambiguity makes you want to solve it but you can’t, and that’s what makes it so engaging. Bellmer’s work often plays with the fragmented body, and you can see a similar interest here. It reminds me a little of the dreamlike quality in some of Leonora Carrington’s paintings. Art is like a never-ending conversation, where ideas keep morphing and transforming.