Charcoal and graphite drawings on display in Morristown

Artists often draw preliminary studies in pencil or charcoal in the process of planning finished works. For others, drawing represents a means of its own, conducive for an abundance of expressive purposes.

A recently opened show at Gallery 14 in Morristown highlights the fluency and vitality of drawn imagery through the works of four prominent Garden State artists. “A Sure Hand” assembles selected exemplars by Sassona Norton of Bedminster, Doug DePice of Secaucus, Neal Korn of Union and Arlene Gale Milgram of Trenton.

The Morris Arts’ exhibition committee, in collaboration with the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, formulated the show’s theme and chose the artists. An exhibition catalog accompanies the exhibit, which Dick Eger curated.

“We selected works that embody the defining element of drawings: simplicity,” he said.

The four artists turn drawing towards differing purposes, from the visual synecdoche of Norton’s manual monuments to DePice’s brooding impositions, and from Korn’s glib inventions to Milgram’s frenetic improvisations.

“Drawing juxtaposes the austerity of the single line with the power of the image that emerges,” said Eger. “It’s the sure hand of these artists that transforms the humble into the extraordinary.”

In fact, Norton makes hands the special topic of her featured works — majestic, chiseled, worn, furrowed hands — extensions in charcoal of her sculptures in bronze and steel. Her hands overwhelm the canvas, magnifying skin, veins, joints and sinews into hills, valleys, slopes and streams resonant with the poignancy of the human experience.

“Norton effortlessly folds themes about the shortness of life, the concept of yearning, the sadness of want and desire for change into her exuberant charcoals of hands,” noted Eger.

DePice pursues inspirations gleaned from reading Elie Wiesel’s famous Holocaust chronicle, “Night.” Crematorium chimneys loom menacingly in one charcoal rendition, swollen with dread and despair.

“The forms are like giant tombstones of history,” said DePice. “I find the imagery of the smoke to appear heavy with the death of countless souls — and thick with madness.”

Korn bends more whimsically, playing absurdist tricks on straightforward subjects like the Seaport Marina, the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln in Newark, and other iconic landmarks of the region. His precise delineation of the memorial cannon in Union appears forthright enough — except for its ammunition.

“That’s my head being blown out of the cannon,” Korn quipped.

Milgram makes abstract excursions towards processing her life experiences, translating moods, events and feelings into spatial rhythms, volumes, shapes and gestures that intermingle in a frenzied ballet. She cultivates visual richness and complexity by reclaiming aborted works, improvising on and overlaying them with aimless wanderings and swift sorties, in mimicry of the conflicted hesitancy of personal intent.

“The scars that remain are maps of time and experience, full of false starts and new beginnings,” she explained. “These are the threads that hold us together.”

‘A SURE HAND’

WHAT: Drawings by Sassona Norton, Doug DePice, Neal Korn and Arlene Gale Milgram

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday through August 27

WHERE: The Morris Arts’ Gallery at 14 Maple, 14 Maple Ave., Suite 301, Morristown

ADMISSION: Free

INFO: 973-285-5115, www.morrisarts.org