Bomen zonder blad achter haag 1939 - 2009

Here's "Trees without Leaves behind Hedge" by Kees Stoop, done with graphite on paper. It’s all about the layering of marks, a real meditation on process, like how a landscape reveals itself over time. Up close, you can see how Stoop coaxes out different textures with such simple means. The hedge is a frenzy of short, nervous strokes, a dark band, while the trees behind are built up with longer, more deliberate lines. Notice how some of the lines are darker, thicker, maybe put down with a softer graphite, and others are lighter, almost wispy. It's like he's mapping the energy of the scene. In the negative space, the stark white of the page becomes as important as the marks themselves. It reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin’s work – that same quiet intensity, that sense of searching for something beyond the surface. It's like Stoop’s showing us that a drawing isn’t just about what you see, but about how you see.