Noordhof’s drawings

Press, 10 November 1983, Page 11

Noordhof’s drawings

“People in Pastel.” Drawings by Els Noordhof, at the Bealey Gallery, until November 12. Reviewed by John Hurrell.

The. 14 drawings on disS consist mostly of. pors, with some clothed figure studies and some nudes. Done with expertise in pastel, these elegant works show sensitivity of line, and some versatility of technique and composition. However, the languid passivity of. the subjects, as they sit in chairs, or recline on beds, tends to restrict the drawings and even the portraits, to exercises in skill but with little psychological content.

If one were to compare these works with say, those bf Degas, then one would see the role of the artist as being capable of something quite different, as a person actually going out and observing people’s occupa-

tional or recreational pursuits, be that scrubbing clothes or practising ballet. The artist in this case is forced to make quick decisions on the spot as to what to draw, and how to dynamically arrange the shapes on the page. In comparison, the works of this exhibition seem planned well in advance, and lack any sense of urgency in their creation.

In spite of this, some of these drawings are effective by means of their compositions and by their use of traditional art imagery. The two most successful works, “Reclining Nude (2),” and “Youth Sitting,” although basically more polished versions of what is drawn in any art school, succeed through their dramatic organisation, especially the “Reclining Nude,” which has the foreshortened figure, cutting vigorously across

the page at a diagonal. Another “Reclining Nude, No. 1” has the figure aligned horizontally, with the bright sunlight forming effectively dark shadows on the head and torso. This is the most .striking work in the exhibition.

Of the portraits, only one looks at the viewer direct. Most have an averted gaze, and with the sitters seeming otherwise preoccupied. While there are rare lapses in draughtmanship id the modelling of the head and the drawing of the hands, it is the intrinsically undemanding character of these works which makes this a somewhat dull show. The lack of ambition found in these drawings makes them no more than demonstrations of technique. This is a well presented exhibition, but one that is very easy to forget.