In "Up and Down and Sideways", Marc Nagtzaam unfolds a field of concentrated attention, where order and deviation continuously question one another. At first glance, the work appears as a strict grid — a system of rectangles and squares drawn in graphite. Yet the longer one looks, the more the structure seems to breathe. Lines fail to align perfectly, planes vary subtly in tone; the artist’s hand remains palpable, present in every repetition.
The drawing emerges from patience and discipline. Each layer of graphite thickens the surface, forming a velvety skin that reflects light unevenly. Within these minute shifts lies a rhythm — a visual breathing that animates the work.
As in all of Nagtzaam’s practice, the drawing explores the fragile balance between reduction and excess. The precision of the system collides with the unpredictability of gesture. What begins as construction gradually transforms into a space of perception — never closed, always becoming.