Gesture Uncensored

François Dubeau’s current pen work is borne of a fascination with the unbridled creative energy and movement which is often found primarily in a sketch. It is also an exploration of how observers see such work, how they must dig within their own subjectivity to fill in the blanks. Each drawing starts from a random stroke of the pen, observed from all angles to become the spark that feeds the rest of the graphic composition.

To capture that uncensored gesture, François uses only the naked line. Every other element has been discarded, even color. All that is left are black lines on that most elemental of supports, paper. In the last few years, he has put aside his quill and ink in favor of a digital pen and graphics tablet. These modern tools act as a kind of gesture capturing device. The hand, liberated from all fears of making a mistake or obsessions of perfection is free to explore raw, boundless, movement. François can now better than ever capture the fleeting “moment of the sketch”, the free flowing, unrehearsed lines that normally would be erased during the deliberate travail involved in producing a so-called final work.

© François Dubeau 2007