Pewter Creamer c. 1936

Charles Cullen drew this pewter creamer sometime between 1855 and 1995, likely using graphite. He must have been interested in tonal variation, since there is a subtle but lovely gradient across the entire surface of the jug. I imagine Cullen, like many artists, was trying to understand three-dimensional forms, to nail how light moves across a metallic object. The jug sits inside a linear box which helps to separate it from its surroundings, like a stage. Then, there are linear diagrams of the jug itself and its foot – perhaps part of the working process. I love this kind of drawing, which feels like an intimate, direct record of looking. The jug's form and the way it sits feels old fashioned, yet strangely modern. There's a quality to the depiction here that connects with drawings by lots of artists working today, all of us in a big conversation. I can hear the echo of this conversation, it is like an extended embodied expression, full of interpretation, with an ambition to be felt, to be seen, now and forever.