Swim Toward the Light Drawing

Much of Eric Ketelsen’s work might be characterized by pattern, repetition and layering of tone and formal abstraction on paper. At the root of his work is a fascination with line quality, mark, and gesture. A nod to traditional Japanese aesthetics as well as Zen calligraphy is expressed in many of his drawings. A related influence, wabi-sabi, often associated with the aesthetic of the Japanese tea ceremony, recognizes beauty in the imperfect, worn, aged, faded, simple or crude. A look of faded or aged tone or an imperfect “wash” is prevalent in much of his black and white work. The work is often process oriented, improvisational and spontaneous. As a result the artist is constantly inspired to explore new and novel directions of expression.