Richard Serra (b. 1939)

When Richard Serra was a young man, the artist worked in a steel mill before graduating from Yale; these experiences shaped his understanding of materiality and space. Since the 1960s, the artist has been widely recognized for his impressive steel sculptures; however, his drawings have not been the subject of attention until fairly recently. "I've been drawing all my life," Serra told Charlie Rose in 2011. "Drawing is another way of thinking." The artist employed oilstick on paper to create 1-95, an autonomous work of art named after the formidable East Coast highway spanning 15 states and measuring nearly 2,000 miles in length. Jagged charcoal lines curve around a white background in the piece, conjuring images of speed and controlled chaos, an imperfect circle of motion in a tightly bordered space. Compared to the smooth lines of works such as Torqued Ellipses, I-95 provides an extended view of the artist, one that allows us inside the contours of his mind, creating a map of rough lines on a delicate surface.