Teacups: The Harlequin Set 1928

Grace Cossington Smith made this painting of teacups and saucers with oil on canvas, but I don't know when! I love the way she’s dolloped on the paint, almost like she's building the image out of tiny bricks, and it’s a slow kind of looking, like a form of meditation. Up close you can see the way she uses the paint to catch the light on the silver tray. It’s not about tricking your eye into seeing something real, but more like making something real out of pure paint. And the colours, those pastel teacups, they feel like they're singing a quiet song together. Check out the yellow saucer, those concentric rings feel like some kind of mystical target or portal. She reminds me of Agnes Martin, but with tea. Both artists share that commitment to simple forms and repetitive gestures, but also that belief in art as something gentle, and nourishing.