Gesso, graphite + pastel on handmade paper

58cm H x 42cm W

One-of-a-kind

2020

Unframed  | Custom Framing available

Humble Matter artist John Born’s drawings are a direct outgrowth of his work in ceramics. Drawing has always been an integral part of Born’s practice. Each Humble Matter piece is explored through numerous sketches before being designed and ultimately brought to life in clay. However, this new series of drawings is an end unto itself. Much like the way he uses the same press moulds in different combinations to make his vases and sculptures, Born uses the same templates as tools for drawing.

His inventive use of line and shape recall de Kooning paintings of the late 40s like Mailbox and Zot, as filtered through a minimalist lens. Less examples of “artistic expression”, the drawings are an investigation into the creative possibilities of minimal resources.

The series was started in response to his ceramics studio closing and a self-imposed quarantine—both due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Born worked with nothing but materials on hand in his make-shift basement studio. Luckily, he had stock-piled a small collection of handmade paper, and already regularly used chalk pastels. As one of his friends and fellow sculptors aptly described art making in the time of corona, “As an artist, you make the best of all situations. You stay invested in the things you’re curious about. You figure it out.”

Signed on back.