Potato Masher c. 1937

Marie Alain made this painting of a potato masher, and the watercolor gives it a delicate touch, a way of seeing the ordinary as extraordinary. It's like she's mashing not just potatoes, but our expectations of what art can be. The texture she coaxes out of the wood grain, the subtle shifts in color—it's all so tender. Look closely, and you can almost feel the smoothness of the handle, the rougher hewn bowl of the masher. There's this spot, right at the top of the handle, where the wood has this eye-like knot. It’s a reminder that even in the most functional objects, there’s a kind of quiet sentience, a history etched into its very being. I'm reminded of Morandi, who painted bottles over and over, finding endless variations in form and light. Alain does something similar here, elevating the humble to the heroic. Art isn’t just about grand gestures. Sometimes, it’s about paying attention.