Bake Room Table c. 1936

This Bake Room Table seems to have been made by Alfred H. Smith, but we can't know for sure exactly when. The rendering uses a limited palette, all these shades of brown, ochre and cream, almost like it's been baked, you know? It gives a sense of warmth and simplicity, a kind of process of gentle reduction. It's a rendering, which is kind of a weird thing in itself, right? So smooth. A painting of a table, but it has no physical texture. You can see the grain of the wood, meticulously rendered, but there is no build up or pooling of pigment that might create any tactile depth. Instead, everything is depicted very cleanly. Maybe the artist wanted the image of a perfect table, but not the table itself? The symmetry is lovely, but the surface lacks the little imperfections that give things a sense of human touch. Smith's piece reminds me of the work of Agnes Martin, in its quiet simplicity and devotion to the grid. Both artists show us how art can be a form of meditation, an invitation to slow down and appreciate the beauty of simple forms. It is in this ambiguity that meaning resides.