This exhibition features portraits made in charcoal and chalk from the early stages of Frank Auerbach’s career. The drawings are dark and expressive. They have been ripped, torn, rubbed out, patched up and reworked again. The artworks are the result of an intense process of redrawing and reworking over multiple sessions until the final portrait was completed. They show how intensely Frank worked and how his process and creative energy went beyond the materials he was working with.
Every wall in the show presents a different person and explores the development of Frank’s process and relationship with each sitter. Each work captures a likeness and sense of presence of the person. The eyes are haunting. Frank’s style developed through his drawing and the work develops towards abstraction where recognisable features become gestural marks and forms.
Stephen Feather art blog 