Cunningham’s drawings are not always easy to categorise. While some series are clearly defined by thematic or formal concerns, others are heterogenous, presenting disparate images loosely connected by vague motifs, methods or inspirations. Composed of a relatively small number of images, these series are grouped together in this section. One of these sets is his linear, minimalist drawings of abstract forms, which seem to be reflecting his parallel work as a graphic designer. Another is that of Cunningham’s still lifes, which constitute an intimate take on one of the most influential genres in the history of art. The last series, finally, is comprised of studies and sketches, a kind of visual production that replicates the analytical practices of traditional artistic education.

In his work as graphic designer, Cunningham employed abstraction to simplify shapes and highlight formal details. Such strategies return in his drawings, which impress viewers with their spontaneous linearity. Abstraction, in general, defines what is separated or withdrawn from reality. In art, images become abstract by increasingly schematising or simplifying the representations of objects, figures or landscapes. Including the entire spectrum of signs, ranging from geometrical forms to spontaneous gestural marks, abstract art does not convey external reality but constitutes a projection of the artist’s mind. It is for this reason that abstraction, historically associated to purity, simplicity and spirituality, is implicitly ascribed a moral dimension.

While total abstraction tends to avoid referencing any recognisable form, it still suggests several connotations to viewers, because vision itself constitutes an epistemological tool. Cunningham’s linear shapes, for instance, consistently suggest natural, biomorphic forms borrowed from his graphic or architectonic designs. In other instances, his abstracted drawings constitute a means to simplify or schematise larger or more complex figurations to an extent that they are no longer recognisable. These inspirations are clearly emerging in the small, direct sketches which seem to faintly suggest the presence of quotidian objects or familiar landscapes populated by cars or grazing cows.

The attempt to rationalise or reimagine forms also emerges in Cunningham’s short series of still lifes. Populated by drawings of fish, fruit and vegetables, this series constitutes an exploration of an art historical genre of many formal and symbolic connotations. Characterised by an interest in material, textures and colours, still lifes traditionally feature arrangements of inanimate objects, variously juxtaposed to create beautiful compositions. The focus on materiality was historically connected to allegories about the ephemerality of the senses to which these objects were connected, pointing to moralising messages regarding the brevity of human existence. However, Cunningham’s arrangements seem to represent, rather than spiritual reflections on the fleeting nature of life, a neutral kind of surface on which to experiment with forms and textures, and perhaps also to register specific moments or memories. Recording not only forms but also, through the meticulous quality of his touch, colour and material, these compositions demonstrate Cunningham’s interest for observing every minute detail in the environment, paying attention to the smallest moments of intimacy and everyday life.

Just like abstract drawings and still lifes, studies also constitute an attempt to reframe or rethink the problems that arise when rendering the elements of reality, such as perspective, colour and light, into drawing. The procedural quality of studies, if understood as finite artistic production, inspired the first experiments of abstract and conceptual art. In some instances, studies metamorphosise into coherent abstract or representational forms.

Traditionally, studies are used by artists to gain novel insight into a particular subject and are generally employed by critics and historians to trace the artist’s process of discovery. They often represent the same subjects many times and present written notes to clarify how a certain element is approached. Just like abstract figures, studies represent a ‘pure’ mode of depicting objects and figures, distilling them into geometric forms that include several elements of non-representation. Similarly, studies tend to present a pared down colour palette and schematised use of line-based compositions. Despite these features, Cunningham’s studies are pervaded by his trademark quality of dynamism and formal development.

Just as abstract drawings, which purify forms to communicate transcendent meanings, studies have a quality of immediacy and spontaneity that are directly connected to the artist’s mind. The instrumental value of these forms becomes even greater when it is not anchored to specific tools, scopes and objectives. Abstract images and studies are not meant to stabilise representation, but rather to explore and question conventional conceptions of temporality and space. In Cunningham’s drawings, these images constitute a fundamental way of reimagining forms and acquiring different kinds of visual knowledge.