Frank Auerbach
1960
Charcoal and chalk on paper
76.2 x 55.9 cm
Frank Auerbach experimented with different ways of using his materials. Much of this work was created by using an eraser to cut through the dark charcoal, the surface is so rubbed that it has a burnished appearance in places. The figure of Stella West appears almost like a negative image, with light and dark reversed. She seems somehow both present and absent. The drawing prompts thoughts about the nature of perception and of existence, themes that were especially significant in the post-war years.