Louisa L. Chase

Chase’s visceral mark-making and use of various materials dominate this drawing. Between the just-beyond-legible scrawls in black and white oil stick at the lower right and the black drip-drop dots noticeable especially in the upper left, we could easily overlook its figurative component. The scribbles at upper right suggest a face, however, just as the disconnected marks at lower left suggest a hand with outstretched fingers. By using figuration and abstraction together without privileging one over the other, Chase calls our attention to the act of drawing as a deeply emotional and intimate medium.

 –Conor Moynihan, assistant curator of prints, drawings, and photographs, RISD Museum