Basket, Table, Door, Window, Mirror, Rug #23 1974

Richard Artschwager made "Basket, Table, Door, Window, Mirror, Rug #23" using ink on paper. I can only imagine him sketching these household items as an exercise in perspective. The linear, almost diagrammatic style, gives a very clear outline of each object. The forms are distinct, but it feels like their relationship with one another is more ambiguous, almost floating in space. Look at how the basket sits on the table, not quite convincingly. I imagine Artschwager thinking about how the different views of the objects change their meaning. How can the window, door and table signify a space? The mirror, a reflection? The rug, a surface? In placing these forms on the page, he’s asking us to consider how we perceive and interact with everyday items, and maybe to think about what it means to make a drawing, and create a representation of objects in space.