Inkwell c. 1937

This 'Inkwell' of an inkwell, was made by Frank Fumagalli, but we don’t know exactly when. The way the surface is described with these tiny strokes, it makes me think about the act of drawing as a kind of touching, like a form of haptic exploration. See how the lines almost seem to ripple across the surface? It's so simple, just line after line, but it creates this sense of volume, this little world within the form. And it’s not trying to trick you into thinking this is real. It’s embracing the flatness, the artifice of the medium, like Manet did. I find that honesty really refreshing. Each mark feels deliberate, like Fumagalli was really thinking about the weight and the character of the object he was drawing. It’s almost like a portrait of an inkwell, not just a representation of it. You could see a similar approach in the work of Vija Celmins, who makes these incredibly detailed drawings of commonplace objects. Both artists, in their own way, invite us to slow down, to really look, and to appreciate the beauty in the everyday.