Caged Condiments 2000

Wayne Thiebaud made ‘Caged Condiments’ with what looks like pastel, and maybe some paint, the exact date is unknown. I'm drawn to the way he builds up color through layers, a process that feels almost like an archeological dig, each stroke revealing another layer of time and thought. Looking at the sugar dispenser, the opaque white, the subtle gradations of color, you sense the density of the pigment. You can imagine the artist building up these surfaces, one stroke at a time. The ‘cages’ holding each item, they almost seem to be floating, more abstract than real. Thiebaud has links to Pop Art, because of the everyday subject matter. You could think of Giorgio Morandi, with his quiet, meditative paintings of bottles and jars. It’s like an ongoing conversation about how we see and what we choose to look at. Art is not about fixed meanings, but about the endless possibilities of interpretation.