Kelly revived the practice of automatic drawing—most closely associated with the Dadaists and Surrealists of the 1920s and 1930s, who sought to tap into the unconscious mind—in works made either without looking at the paper or while blindfolded. While the lines evoke the horizontal sweep of a pine branch and its needles, the loose form indicates the artist’s surrender of control over the final product.
Gallery label from On Line: Drawing Through the Twentieth Century, November 21, 2010-February 7, 2011.
