Drawing of Chair 1935 - 1942

Curator: We’re looking at Nicholas Gorid’s “Drawing of Chair,” likely created sometime between 1935 and 1942. It’s rendered in pencil on paper. Editor: It has the feel of a ghost, somehow! Delicate lines sketch a chair, but it’s almost as if it’s there but not. Like an idea of a chair, waiting to materialize. Curator: Indeed, it’s a technical drawing more than a portrait of an existing chair. Notice the inclusion of measurements. It’s as much about the process of crafting and building as it is about the final product. The artist seems to be working through all its angles and material requirements. Editor: That makes me think—did Gorid ever actually build this chair? Or was it simply an exercise, a blueprint for a potential piece? I love the mystery! And the tiny heart detail on the headrest! A flicker of the personal amidst all the careful angles. Curator: The use of pencil, of course, speaks to its provisional nature. Pencil allows for revision, adjustment—emphasizing the hand of the maker and the iterative nature of design. This isn’t mass production; this is design rooted in skilled labor. It is interesting how this chair design also evokes older vernacular traditions of furniture making, not the emerging mid-century modern. Editor: Right, you sense that the *making* is the point here. You can almost hear the saw, the chisel...the maker figuring it all out in the physical space. Makes me want to learn how to work with wood! The romance of creating, isn't it powerful? Curator: Precisely, it's about imbuing functionality with personal investment. Thinking through its making really highlights the artist's labor and expertise that would be required to make the chair. Editor: Thinking about this sketch, maybe all great design contains that flicker of heart, you know? Something beyond pure function, a touch of the irrational. Curator: It serves as a powerful reminder of the tangible effort behind every object around us. Editor: Yeah, it gives you pause. Next time I sink into a chair, I'll remember the artist, the designer, and the craft involved in even such a basic daily comfort.