In the hushed void of untouched white paper, a brooding nebula of graphite erupts—a chaotic orb suspended in defiant isolation. At its pulsing core, frantic interlocking gestures coil into midnight density: thick, sinuous strokes lash and knot with wild abandon, clashing against one another in a storm of overlapping pressure that builds near-opaque black. From this shadowed heart, ragged tendrils whip outward in every direction—some heavy and jagged, others dissolving into feather-light wisps that fray at the edges like spectral echoes bleeding into nothingness. The marks loop, intersect, and recoil unpredictably, creating no symmetry, no stable form, only raw, electric turmoil that seems to breathe and writhe against the blank expanse.
The composition relies entirely on graphite's tonal spectrum: deepest velvety blacks in the overloaded center give way to graduated grays, then faint ghostly traces that barely whisper against the white. Heavy-graphite buildup suggests rough, almost sculptural texture in the core, while the outer wisps convey fragility and ephemerality, their frayed terminations amplifying the sense of explosive release from confinement. The eye is drawn inexorably to the dense vortex, then cast outward along lashing paths that suggest ceaseless motion—expansion, unraveling, cosmic fury frozen mid-breath.
No horizon or reference point intrudes; the surrounding white silence magnifies the object's rebellion, turning a small sheet into an infinite field where chaos claims sovereignty. Notice how the sharp contrasts between thick entanglement and dissolving lightness create rhythmic tension—pulling inward toward order's collapse, then flinging outward toward liberation. The form mocks containment, hanging alive with untamed energy.
Like others in the "Tychist Objects" series, this drawing channels tychism—Peirce's idea of objective chance as a fundamental force in reality. Algorithmic random-number decisions guided the placement and character of marks, yet the artist's hand rendered each one, fusing mechanical indeterminacy with human gesture. The result is a visual emblem of genuine emergence: primordial disorder giving rise to brooding, beautiful form without design or destiny.
In its quiet intensity, the piece asks you to confront impermanence and flux—how does the maelstrom's defiant pulse against emptiness stir your own sense of origin, chance, or untamed possibility?
Technical notes.
Unique drawing. Graphite on paper. Unframed dimensions: 9-1/8” high x 9-3/8” wide. Signed by the artist on the back, dated 2015. Frame not included.
In the hushed void of untouched white paper, a brooding nebula of graphite erupts—a chaotic orb suspended in defiant isolation. At its pulsing core, frantic interlocking gestures coil into midnight density: thick, sinuous strokes lash and knot with wild abandon, clashing against one another in a storm of overlapping pressure that builds near-opaque black. From this shadowed heart, ragged tendrils whip outward in every direction—some heavy and jagged, others dissolving into feather-light wisps that fray at the edges like spectral echoes bleeding into nothingness. The marks loop, intersect, and recoil unpredictably, creating no symmetry, no stable form, only raw, electric turmoil that seems to breathe and writhe against the blank expanse.
The composition relies entirely on graphite's tonal spectrum: deepest velvety blacks in the overloaded center give way to graduated grays, then faint ghostly traces that barely whisper against the white. Heavy-graphite buildup suggests rough, almost sculptural texture in the core, while the outer wisps convey fragility and ephemerality, their frayed terminations amplifying the sense of explosive release from confinement. The eye is drawn inexorably to the dense vortex, then cast outward along lashing paths that suggest ceaseless motion—expansion, unraveling, cosmic fury frozen mid-breath.
No horizon or reference point intrudes; the surrounding white silence magnifies the object's rebellion, turning a small sheet into an infinite field where chaos claims sovereignty. Notice how the sharp contrasts between thick entanglement and dissolving lightness create rhythmic tension—pulling inward toward order's collapse, then flinging outward toward liberation. The form mocks containment, hanging alive with untamed energy.
Like others in the "Tychist Objects" series, this drawing channels tychism—Peirce's idea of objective chance as a fundamental force in reality. Algorithmic random-number decisions guided the placement and character of marks, yet the artist's hand rendered each one, fusing mechanical indeterminacy with human gesture. The result is a visual emblem of genuine emergence: primordial disorder giving rise to brooding, beautiful form without design or destiny.
In its quiet intensity, the piece asks you to confront impermanence and flux—how does the maelstrom's defiant pulse against emptiness stir your own sense of origin, chance, or untamed possibility?
Technical notes.
Unique drawing. Graphite on paper. Unframed dimensions: 9-1/8” high x 9-3/8” wide. Signed by the artist on the back, dated 2015. Frame not included.
