Chest c. 1940

This chest, made in an unknown year by an anonymous artist, gives us a peek into the beauty of the functional, rendered in watercolor. Look at how the artist coaxes depth from the page, building up thin washes of warm browns and tans, like layers of sediment in the earth. You can almost feel the wood grain under your fingertips. The material aspects here are what make it sing. The way the watercolor bleeds at the edges, especially around the base, lends it an ethereal quality, as if the chest is both present and fading away. I love how the artist hasn't tried to conceal the medium; instead, they embrace its fluid nature, making the chest feel alive, like a memory. It reminds me of some of Giorgio Morandi’s still lifes, the way he turns humble, everyday objects into something profound through careful observation and a limited palette. It’s a testament to how art can elevate the mundane, inviting us to see beauty in the simplest of forms.