Gothic Interiors – Robert Egert Studio

The drawings in Gothic Interiors are about contrasting simple exteriors with complex interiors. The exterior forms are inspired primarily by organic shapes while the interiors combine an interest in medical illustration and Gothic architecture, especially those aspects of the Gothic that are inspired by trees.

Gothic Interiors Drawing, blue conté on litho paper, approx. 13″ x 17″, 2012

I was inspired to create this work after looking at medical illustrations and noting the asymmetric structure of the torso’s interior. It seemed interesting to me that the human body evolved to have a symmetric, smooth exterior but a wildly complex and asymmetric interior. This discrepancy is roughly analogous to the ideal and the real: The external projection of uniformity and order compared to the complexity and equivocation of internal thought, doubt, and second-guessing.

Conté on printmaking paper, approx. 12″ x 17″, 2013

These drawings are executed with conté on old German litho paper which I’d bought from an old friend who had a studio next to mine in a nineteenth century industrial complex that was originally built to produce Civil War uniforms for the Union Army. The paper has a pronounced gird pattern in relief that worked well with the sensitivity of the conté. Unfortunately the paper is no longer available. I bought the conté pencils at Pearl Paint before they went out of business. I tried lots of different colors and found that it was nearly impossible to maintain a sharp point with blue which meant that I went through a lot of them. When I tried to get more of them I found that the company that made them was purchased by Bic, the French company that makes ball point pens, and that Bic had decided to stop manufacturing them. Luckily I was able to buy a few dozen boxes on ebay.

Conté on printmaking paper, approx. 12″ x 17″, 2013