Sumi Figure - Virginia Cohn Parkum, c. Unknown

In Sumi Figure, Virginia Cohn Parkum reduces the human presence to its most essential gestures, allowing the body to emerge through a few fluid strokes rather than descriptive detail. The figure is suggested rather than rendered: a circular mark implies the head, while sweeping, translucent arcs form the torso. Two darker, weighted strokes intersect the composition like limbs in motion, introducing both structural balance and directional energy.

Parkum’s brushwork demonstrates the expressive range of sumi ink. Saturated strokes anchor the composition, while lighter, diluted washes dissolve into the paper, creating a sense of breath and movement. The variation between wet, velvety blacks and dry, feathered edges conveys the rhythm of the artist’s hand and the immediacy of the gesture. The figure seems to form and dissolve simultaneously, as though caught between appearance and disappearance.

The composition is asymmetrical yet harmonious. The darker diagonal strokes act as stabilizing counterweights to the airy, looping lines that describe the body. Near the lower right, a cluster of leaf-like brush marks introduces a natural motif, suggesting ground, motion, or an energetic trace left behind by movement. These marks anchor the figure while reinforcing the organic vocabulary of the piece.

Negative space plays a crucial role. The white field is not empty but active, allowing the viewer’s perception to complete the form. This openness invites contemplation, emphasizing presence rather than physical detail.

Sumi Figure reflects Parkum’s interest in essence over representation. By stripping the human body to gesture, balance, and breath-like movement, she evokes the vitality of being itself — a fleeting, dynamic presence rendered through the discipline and spontaneity of ink.