On a wide expanse of clean white paper, a swirling vortex of graphite coalesces at the center—like a spiraling cosmic energy captured mid-explosion. Thousands of short, obsessive zig-zag strokes radiate outward from a near-solid dark core: heaviest pressure builds dense, velvety black in the heart, creating textured opacity and implied depth through relentless cross-hatching. As lines extend, they thin rapidly—becoming lighter, sparser, and more feathery—trailing into irregular, cloud-like tendrils that fray and dissolve into the surrounding white, suggesting boundless dispersal.
The form is strictly abstract: no figure, no horizon, no geometric grid—only rhythmic buildup and release of marks that evoke organic turbulence, explosive outward force, and pure gestural intensity. The stark monochromatic palette relies entirely on graphite’s range—from crushing black to faint silvery wisps—generating dramatic light-shadow play and hypnotic texture through density alone.
The composition centers this turbulent bloom asymmetrically yet magnetically: the dense core pulls the eye inward to its shadowed frenzy, then flings it outward along radiating tendrils that seem to continue beyond the edges—creating relentless rhythmic tension between containment and liberation, accumulation and dissolution.
Notice how the zig-zag repetition and gradual thinning create a sense of spiraling motion and breathing depth, as though the drawing itself is expanding from a single point of origin.
Part of the Tychist Objects series, this unique drawing embraces tychism—Charles Sanders Peirce’s philosophy that genuine, objective chance is a fundamental creative force in the universe. Algorithmic random-number processes guided key decisions in mark placement, density, and character, yet every zig-zag was executed by hand, fusing mechanical indeterminacy with obsessive human gesture. The result: a visual emblem of energy born from true randomness—chaotic yet meditative beauty emerging as if by miracle.
In its hypnotic intensity, the work invites prolonged looking—how does this spiraling graphite storm against silent white awaken your sense of emergence, restless motion, or the quiet poetry of chance made visible?
Technical notes.
Unique drawing, graphite on paper. Unframed dimensions: 11” high x 14” wide. Signed by the artist on the back, dated 2015. Frame not included.
On a wide expanse of clean white paper, a swirling vortex of graphite coalesces at the center—like a spiraling cosmic energy captured mid-explosion. Thousands of short, obsessive zig-zag strokes radiate outward from a near-solid dark core: heaviest pressure builds dense, velvety black in the heart, creating textured opacity and implied depth through relentless cross-hatching. As lines extend, they thin rapidly—becoming lighter, sparser, and more feathery—trailing into irregular, cloud-like tendrils that fray and dissolve into the surrounding white, suggesting boundless dispersal.
The form is strictly abstract: no figure, no horizon, no geometric grid—only rhythmic buildup and release of marks that evoke organic turbulence, explosive outward force, and pure gestural intensity. The stark monochromatic palette relies entirely on graphite’s range—from crushing black to faint silvery wisps—generating dramatic light-shadow play and hypnotic texture through density alone.
The composition centers this turbulent bloom asymmetrically yet magnetically: the dense core pulls the eye inward to its shadowed frenzy, then flings it outward along radiating tendrils that seem to continue beyond the edges—creating relentless rhythmic tension between containment and liberation, accumulation and dissolution.
Notice how the zig-zag repetition and gradual thinning create a sense of spiraling motion and breathing depth, as though the drawing itself is expanding from a single point of origin.
Part of the Tychist Objects series, this unique drawing embraces tychism—Charles Sanders Peirce’s philosophy that genuine, objective chance is a fundamental creative force in the universe. Algorithmic random-number processes guided key decisions in mark placement, density, and character, yet every zig-zag was executed by hand, fusing mechanical indeterminacy with obsessive human gesture. The result: a visual emblem of energy born from true randomness—chaotic yet meditative beauty emerging as if by miracle.
In its hypnotic intensity, the work invites prolonged looking—how does this spiraling graphite storm against silent white awaken your sense of emergence, restless motion, or the quiet poetry of chance made visible?
Technical notes.
Unique drawing, graphite on paper. Unframed dimensions: 11” high x 14” wide. Signed by the artist on the back, dated 2015. Frame not included.
