Studio Pad with Shell Graphite Object

Agelio Batle’s graphite sculptures blur the line between tool and object. Cast in solid graphite, his works transform objects from the natural world — shells, feathers, branches, and hands — into unexpected drawing instruments. Each piece leaves its own distinctive mark, shaped by texture, movement, and the way it is held.

The work grew from Batle’s Drawing Hand project in 1999, when he cast his own hand in graphite every day for a year. Since then, he has continued to explore the idea that drawing begins not with the pencil, but with the hand and the gesture. His sculptures invite us to rediscover mark-making as a physical, playful, and deeply human act.