Toleware Metal Teapot c. 1939

Andrew Topolosky made this Toleware Metal Teapot, likely with watercolour, and graphite or ink. What’s cool is how he’s used these granular marks to describe something smooth and metallic; his mark-making feels like a process of discovery. It’s interesting to note the way the artist's hand comes through, you can see the layered application, this slightly grubby blending of graphite, ink or watercolour, which has a really nice material presence. The soft dark shading gives the teapot volume, a weighty density which is at odds with the flat surface. I like the way the red decorative accents are less detailed than the rest of the teapot, which makes it feel more functional than precious. Topolosky’s been able to take something so straightforward and turn it into a kind of celebration of the everyday. He reminds me a bit of Giorgio Morandi, who spent his career painting the same bottles over and over. Art really does embrace ambiguity, inviting different interpretations and perspectives.