Untitled, 2018
Dennis Lee Mitchell uses torches and other smoke devices to create beautiful and original abstract drawings. He deliberately leaves his work untitled, allowing viewers to conjure their own visual references and experiences. The process of putting smoke and flame in close proximity to paper, two contradictory gestures and materials, requires several attempts before arriving at the final work. Mitchell’s numerical system indicates the number of preparatory drawings needed to achieve the desired image, followed by the number of attempts on the final archival paper, such as Arches. The results are mysterious, landscape or flower-like images that engage and mesmerize the viewer with gradations of smoke and suggestions of smoldering embers.