Blink

2001 · Drawing · 93.3 × 70 cm

May one see it?

Not receiving at present

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 7 days ago
In this state since: Sep 25, 2026
Source: The museum's own collection data

On the map Museum page

About the work

David Rhodes' drawings are apparently simple, but draw together a complex web of associations and allusions; they have obvious affinities with the tradition of later 20th century painterly abstraction, but they are also about the process of drawing, and demonstrate complex spatial relationships by means of a subtle and seductive use of colour. At the same time they make explicit references to pattern and decoration. Woven textiles and patterning are an acknowledged though indirect source for the artist (though it is by no means a reductive influence) - in his own writings he has used terms such as 'weave', 'knot' and 'layering' to describe both the process and the resulting image.

Read on

These drawings also have an obvious analogy to networks and maps. Rhodes is an inveterate traveller, who thinks a great deal about the links between places, and the elliptical process of re-visiting and returning. The titles chosen for this sequence of drawings [see also 'Lapse', E.913-2002] relate specifically to the passage of time, to repetition and reiteration - here the drawing is dense with overlaid loops of colour, suggesting a rapid movement and indeed the lines interfere with one another and seem to pulse and flicker. It may be pertinent that the artist has lived for extended periods in Venice, a city which is peculiarly constructed as an intricate tracery of overlapping loops of water and of streets and bridges; he revisits it regularly and finds it a constant source of solace and of inspiration.

Victoria and Albert Museum