Silver Candlestick c. 1937

Editor: This drawing of a candlestick, made with pencil around 1937 by Horace Reina, has a strikingly modern feel, even though candlesticks are such traditional objects. What do you make of this simple, yet elegant, piece? Curator: I am intrigued by the blend of the archaic and the modern that you mentioned. Light, embodied by the candle, is a primordial symbol of knowledge and guidance. The candlestick *holds* that light, it stabilizes the metaphysical, bringing it down to earth through geometric form. Do you notice how the square base and top contrast with the bulbous, organic shape of the stem? Editor: Yes, I see what you mean! The tension between the geometric and the organic is subtle but definitely present. Is that tension important? Curator: I believe it is crucial. Consider how often light, whether divine or intellectual, is perceived as this ephemeral, almost untouchable force. Reina's choice to ground it within defined, almost industrial shapes, suggests an interesting negotiation between faith or inner illumination and the rapidly modernizing world. Is it a way of taming or understanding something sacred? Editor: That’s a fascinating idea! I hadn’t thought about it in terms of that sort of dialogue. Curator: What else strikes you about the candlestick itself, outside of it just being an object? Perhaps the material implications? Editor: The depiction in pencil as opposed to an ink wash definitely tones down the sense of reflective gleam, placing emphasis on structure and shading rather than a depiction of material value or spiritual illumination. Curator: Precisely. That lack of "gleam," redirects us from notions of inherent, divine light towards a humanized, constructed symbol, open for intellectual or secular contemplation. A powerful statement, I think. Editor: I agree; this reframing sheds new light on such a conventional subject.