To see a World in a grain of sand
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in a hour.
W. Blake
In the contemporary realm of drawing that goes from lines constructed with iron to those embroidered with the finest thread, Elizabeth Dorazio ́s works follow different courses that substantiate the tradicional drawing weave. Pencil, ink pen, ballpoint pen, watercolour, and gouache are some of the media the artist uses in her creations, constituting her own comprehensive technical register. In some drawings the line is sharp, accurate, speedy, soft and clean; in others, it throbs and trembles, as if diffidently hesitant to expose itself. In all cases, they are indicators that imply prospective forms, on-going visualities.
In Dorazio ́s work, as in music, series show the evolution of a construction project – of variations on a same theme – that evolves from line to brushstroke, from drawing to painting. The artist clearly enjoys experimenting with the architecture of drawing, from the use of lead pencils in the outline of delicate contours, to the gradual addition of color, topped with exuberant brushstrokes that organize form.
Each drawing has its own specificity and tells a story. They are fruits, flowers, a fallen leaf, tree trunks, an empty chair, a park view. They are isolated fragments that one ́s everyday gaze no longer captures, whether due to artlessness, or to familiarity with these signs. The artist ́s quest for the innermost details of this microcosm reveals her desire to part from the prevailing unawareness and zoom in on tangible reality, intentionally bringing it to the foreground. Placed out of its appropriate context, the object prompts defamiliarization and is enhanced mainly through color vibrations or irregular/ diverse textures, thus capturing and fascinating the viewer ́s otherwise empty gaze.
Whereas to an observer ́s unaware gaze everything seems to be at first a harmony of form and colour, unexpectedly this same eye is caught by a timidly drawn text- Are these assertions or questions? Do they address the image or the viewer? Are they meant to bring forth elucidation or doubt? Here, interpretation allows a resonance, an intimacy with language and a dialectic of subjectivity. The viewer perceives that the objects have been impregnated with emotion and an intimate, simple eminence…the eminence of the nature of drawing itself.
Nancy Betts
Art Historian