Jug 1935 - 1942

Charles Caseau made "Jug", with a limited palette, it's all about process. You can almost see him trying to get it right. There's a tentative quality to the outlines of the jugs, as if Caseau is mapping out a space for something to happen. But it's the blue details that really catch my eye. The blue is not just decorative, it's structural, emotional, a bit like handwriting. Take that central bird with its long tail, the way the blue pools and gathers, it makes the image almost vibrate on the surface of the page. Looking at his other works, there is something of Henri Matisse in the simple forms, and the focus on surface. "Jug" reminds us that art is often about embracing the imperfect, the unresolved, the ongoing conversation. It's this openness that makes it so engaging.