LYNNE TOBIN

LINE STUDIES DRAWINGS

FRONT COVER, DETAIL: BLACK RAIN | 2017 | INK ON PAPER | 96”H x 42”W

ESSAY: JEN DRAGON | SPACE AND BEING |

There is something quietly compelling in Lynne Tobin’s black and white Line Studies drawings. Presence is not limited to the marks on the page. Through an interplay of gesture and restraint, the work evokes a contemplative presence — one that lingers in between the visible and the invisible. Absence becomes a space for reflection on being.

Working with experimental materials such as string, rope and thread and reducing her palette to Sumi ink on white sheets or scrolls of paper, Tobin combines control and spontaneity. She explores the nature of perception through the interplay of control versus spontaneity. Each mark is a gesture that both creates and defines space. Tobin builds her visual statement by making only one mark at a time. Like a lacemaker or weaver, her multiple singular lines emerge organically as a collective form.

In the Pillar series, singular lines band together into simple arcs, suggesting diameters outside of the paper’s boundaries. The inked marks, ranging from dark and deep to light and fragile, vibrate together like a stringed instrument. These small Pillar drawings (15” x 11.5”), when viewed together, become variations on a theme or resemble musical notations for an unknown song.

In Tobin’s larger scrolls, the artist allows long sheets of paper to reach from the ceiling to the floor, creating a gentle two-dimensional white curve against the wall. This undulation allows for the stark black, elongated brush marks to interact with space in the gallery. The strong linear elements and the rich flowing marks interact sculpturally with ambient light. In Attachments, an continued

actual ink-soaked rope is draped in front of relaxed inked lines and creates repetition and illusions of shadows. The draping also suggests curtains, domesticity and has an eerie emotional intensity.

For the artist, the string and rope are sculptural graphic lines that alter perception of space. In some of the work the physical reality of the rope is left as a black imprint on the surface of the paper, in other work the string functions more as a brush that is making textured marks and lines on paper. The resulting marks capture not only a moment in time but also the phenomenological reality of the rope — its weight, tension, and interaction with the surface. The string and rope are caught in motion, suspended in a gesture that impacts the paper and leaves behind a trace of its presence. Each drawing becomes a quiet meditation on time, gravity, materiality, and perception — a record of what is seen, felt, and remembered.

Tobin’s Line Studies series invites the viewer to consider not only what is visible, but how it is perceived — how presence lingers, and experience becomes both form and experience. The sense of presence and space within the work are shaped by the artist’s meditation practice and the meditative process of creating the work line by line. Presence, space, and an emphasis on the unfolding moment are thereby central to the work.

JEN DRAGON,

"THE BEST USE OF THIS MOMENT IS TO DROWN IN IT.

KEEP QUIET, YOU ARE INSIDE OF THE INSIDE. DO NOT DWELL ANYWHERE AND MAKE NO EFFORT.

JUST KEEP QUIET, WHEREVER YOU ARE, JUST KEEP QUIET." - PAPAJI

ARTISTS STATEMENT

"EACH LINE IS NOW THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE WITH ITS OWN INNATE HISTORY. IT DOES NOT ILLUSTRATE — IT IS THE SENSATION OF ITS OWN REALIZATION."

- CY TWOMBLY

My art explores the fundamental language of drawing through unconventional means. I use thread, string, and ink on paper, seeking to liberate the line from conscious control. By dipping these flexible materials in ink, I investigate their inherent physical properties, initially on a horizontal plane and later vertically on the wall, observing the captivating interplay of gravity. I'm drawn to the unrestrained marks and serendipitous events that arise from materials saturated in ink, fascinated by the tension between the fixed and the falling. Inspired by daily life's rhythms, patterns, and materials, particularly crafts traditionally associated with women like stitching, mending, and weaving, my work evokes a sense of familiarity. The repetitive patterns in the Line Studies drawings recall textiles, resembling threads on a loom, woven together on paper. This work is grounded in meditative inquiry, emphasizing process and presence. The tactile surfaces and recurring linear motifs invite the viewer into an internal, quiet realm. By reducing the drawing process to its most basic elements, a more authentic and immediate expression emerges, transforming the act of drawing into a form of visual poetry.

LYNNE TOBIN

PAGES 8/9, DETAIL, LEFT: LINE STUDIES II #1 | RIGHT: ROTATIONS

RIGHT: THREADS #1 | 2023 | INK ON PAPER | 24“H x 18”W

UNTITLED

PAGES 22/23, DETAIL: THREADS #2 | 2023 | INK ON PAPER |

48”H x 36”W

RIGHT: PILLAR SERIES #2 | 2020 | INK ON PAPER | 15”H x 11.5”W

BLACK RAIN | 2017

INK ON PAPER | 96”H x 42”W

40/41,

PAGES

DETAIL: BLACK RAIN | 2017

INK ON PAPER

96”H x 42”W

RIGHT: STORY LINES #5

2024 | INK ON PAPER

54”H x 18”W

ATTACHMENTS | 2023 | ROPE AND INK ON PAPER | 42”H x 32”W

Lynne Tobin is a mixed-media artist based in the Hudson Valley, New York. Working primarily on paper, she employs thread, string, and ink to explore the inherent language of drawing. In her large-scale and intimate works, Tobin investigates line, materiality, and spatial tension, creating compositions that hover between the tactile and the ephemeral.

For over a decade, Tobin’s abstract ink drawings have been featured in numerous group and juried exhibitions across New England and the East Coast. Her meticulous process — layering delicate threads over gestural ink marks — challenges traditional boundaries between drawing, textile arts, and installation. This interplay of media allows her to redefine how viewers engage with line, texture, and negative space.

Most recently, Tobin presented her Line Studies series in a solo exhibition in Venice, Italy, during the 60th Venice Biennale. This show drew critical attention for its innovative fusion of thread-drawn pathways and fluid ink gestures, underscoring her commitment to pushing the dialogue surrounding contemporary drawing practices.

Tobin’s work has been acquired by private and public collections and cited in regional art publications. She continues to develop new bodies of work through residencies, collaborative projects, and contributing to the vibrant community of artists in the Hudson Valley and beyond.

ABOUT LYNNE TOBIN