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Butterfly Series, 2007
Pen and ink on paper, 8.5 x 11”

This series consists of ten highly abstract drawings of great formal complexity, many inflected by architectural, sculptural and textile traditions. Additionally, the works reveal a profound fascination with the expressive capacity of lines. Sculptural ideas inform the sense of bas-relief evoked by ovoid and shell shapes in the drawings. The wealth of swirling compound curves and protuberances strongly suggest three-dimensionality. Architectural ideas underlay Cabral’s predilection toward clearly defined closed forms in which linear elements seem to enclose spaces and resolve structural tensions. Using fabric-inspired bands of patterns, Cabral creates spaces that are simultaneously evident yet ambiguous. Despite the textile references that are so prominent in the drawings, they still manage to retain an almost biological character, an organic quality akin to maculation and evolutionary design. It is clear that Cabral values the graceful sculptural and architectural principles that one often associates with the structure of shells and other natural forms, especially when seen under magnification. This interest is consistent with Cabral’s preoccupation with genesis in nature.