Centered on a pristine white sheet, a solitary storm of graphite lines coalesces into an irregular, cloud-like form that hovers weightlessly in the void. At its dense heart, a vortex of sinuous, overlapping strokes coils and writhes with frenetic energy—thick, dark tangles clash and knot in shadowed frenzy, suggesting rotation, collision, and ceaseless flux. From this turbulent core, the marks spill outward like smoke escaping a concealed blaze: lines thin gradually into delicate, wandering loops, jagged whispers, and fragile tendrils that trail toward the edges before dissolving into silence.
The composition is strictly monochromatic, relying entirely on graphite's range of values—from velvety blacks and dense grays in the overloaded center to faint, feathery grays at the periphery. Value contrasts create dramatic depth: heavy pressure builds opacity and implied texture in the core's chaos, while lighter, skittering touches evoke ephemerality and escape. The lines themselves are organic and gestural—curving, looping, intersecting unpredictably—implying movement without literal direction, as though capturing a single frozen instant in an eternal process of becoming or unraveling.
No horizon, figure, or geometric grid anchors the form; the surrounding white expanse amplifies isolation and expansiveness, turning the small drawing into a microcosmic universe suspended in emptiness. This deliberate centering focuses attention on internal dynamics: notice how the densest tangles pull the eye inward toward the vortex, then release it outward along thinning paths, creating rhythmic tension between confinement and liberation.
Part of the artist's "Tychist Objects" series, this hand-drawn work embraces tychism—Charles Sanders Peirce's philosophy that genuine chance plays an objective role in the universe. Taber generated decisions algorithmically with random numbers, yet executed each mark by hand, merging mechanical indeterminacy with human touch. The result is a visual metaphor for emergence from nothingness: explosive birth, chaotic creation, or a dream of flux captured mid-breath.
In its quiet rebellion against order, the drawing invites you to linger—how does the interplay of density and dissolution evoke ideas of chance, origin, or impermanence in your own perception?
Technical notes.
Unique drawing, graphite on paper. Unframed dimensions: 10-1/16” high x 11-1/8” wide. Signed by the artist on the back, dated 2015. Frame not included.
Centered on a pristine white sheet, a solitary storm of graphite lines coalesces into an irregular, cloud-like form that hovers weightlessly in the void. At its dense heart, a vortex of sinuous, overlapping strokes coils and writhes with frenetic energy—thick, dark tangles clash and knot in shadowed frenzy, suggesting rotation, collision, and ceaseless flux. From this turbulent core, the marks spill outward like smoke escaping a concealed blaze: lines thin gradually into delicate, wandering loops, jagged whispers, and fragile tendrils that trail toward the edges before dissolving into silence.
The composition is strictly monochromatic, relying entirely on graphite's range of values—from velvety blacks and dense grays in the overloaded center to faint, feathery grays at the periphery. Value contrasts create dramatic depth: heavy pressure builds opacity and implied texture in the core's chaos, while lighter, skittering touches evoke ephemerality and escape. The lines themselves are organic and gestural—curving, looping, intersecting unpredictably—implying movement without literal direction, as though capturing a single frozen instant in an eternal process of becoming or unraveling.
No horizon, figure, or geometric grid anchors the form; the surrounding white expanse amplifies isolation and expansiveness, turning the small drawing into a microcosmic universe suspended in emptiness. This deliberate centering focuses attention on internal dynamics: notice how the densest tangles pull the eye inward toward the vortex, then release it outward along thinning paths, creating rhythmic tension between confinement and liberation.
Part of the artist's "Tychist Objects" series, this hand-drawn work embraces tychism—Charles Sanders Peirce's philosophy that genuine chance plays an objective role in the universe. Taber generated decisions algorithmically with random numbers, yet executed each mark by hand, merging mechanical indeterminacy with human touch. The result is a visual metaphor for emergence from nothingness: explosive birth, chaotic creation, or a dream of flux captured mid-breath.
In its quiet rebellion against order, the drawing invites you to linger—how does the interplay of density and dissolution evoke ideas of chance, origin, or impermanence in your own perception?
Technical notes.
Unique drawing, graphite on paper. Unframed dimensions: 10-1/16” high x 11-1/8” wide. Signed by the artist on the back, dated 2015. Frame not included.
