Collage on Paper - Poem XXIII by James Edward Scherbarth

A block of bright red paper sits at the bottom like a step, with rows of looping script stacked above it.

Poem XXIII is a collage on paper, mixed media, by James Edward Scherbarth, dated 2020 and signed and dated 08-23-2020 on the verso. Asemic writing, marks that look like handwriting without spelling words, is a familiar device in abstract work for suggesting language without pinning it down. Five ruled lines of loose graphite loops sit on a small white rectangle. Below it, a stepped shape of vivid red paper is collaged in place, with a dark oval of graphite resting on its upper ledge. It is 7 inches wide and 10 high.

The words are illegible, the feeling is not.