Untitled (1995)

With the paper placed on the floor, this drawing is the result and direct expression of the artist’s natural rhythm as she walked around the sheet, each mark adhering to a strict internal tempo. The placement of the pencil marks on the sheet and the length of the lines are embodiments of Karshan’s natural range of movements. The final composition is not based on a preconceived grid form, but is a manifestation of the artist’s rhythm, balance and movement across the paper.

Linda Karshan has devoted her artistic career to the medium of drawing and has developed an impressive and highly original body of work over more than thirty years. Each work is the result of a carefully choreographed procedure in the studio whereby Karshan draws according to beats and intervals which she counts in her head and which determine the type and direction of her line. In recent years the importance of her work has begun to be more fully recognised with major museums internationally acquiring significant pieces. This is one of the artist’s most important drawings and its heroic scale is an important statement of her extraordinary commitment to draughtsmanship.

Anonymous gift via the Redfern Gallery 2010

Courtauld Connects Regional Programme - Radical Drawing, Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, 18/10/2019-19/01/2020

Special Display - The Grid, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 26/01/2012-28/05/2012