The work of Beatrice Caracciolo explores the potential of line to record the expressiveness of motion. Her drawings have been called "compromises between the controlled and the uninhibited," and they indeed combine a refined sensorimotor intelligence with a fearless artistic hand. In this new body of work she explores landscape and figural markings that hint at representation, but leave the subject undefined.
Her calligraphic forms have an intuitive facility. "Line is born from the impossibility of being traced in any other manner," she explains. A closer look at the drawings' depth of surface and careful compositions reveal Caracciolo's formal training and the deliberateness with which she creates her work.
Caracciolo works with crayon, charcoal and graphite on paper wet with a mixture of glue and pigment. As the surface dries, her gestural lines become fixed to the paper, capturing the immediacy of her drawing method. Far from being simple lines on paper, Caracciolo's completed strokes have a distinct presence that imbues the shadowy space in her drawings with a subtle energy.
Beatrice Caracciolo lives and works in Paris where she has also previously exhibited. Her work is included in private collections in both Europe and the United States. Caracciolo, Italian, was educated in New York. This exhibition is her second solo show at Charles Cowles Gallery.
An illustrated catalogue including An Auroral Script by Gustaf Sobin is available for sale.
The exhibition will be on view at the Charles Cowles Gallery, 537 West 24th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues in Chelsea. Hours are 10am to 6pm, Tuesday through Saturday.
For further information or photographs, please contact the gallery.