Desk 1938

Curator: This meticulous rendering created in 1938 by Arsen Maralian, titled "Desk", presents an intimate portrayal of a common object elevated to the realm of art through delicate watercolor and coloured pencil work. Editor: It feels so… reserved. There's a stillness about it, like a quiet corner in an old library. The light is hitting the desk in such a way that it appears isolated, contemplative, removed. Curator: Exactly. Maralian captures not just the physical desk but its aura. Desks have long stood as potent symbols of productivity, knowledge, and contemplation. This particular one evokes the weight of history and perhaps the individual stories written upon its surface. What iconographic details jump out at you? Editor: Definitely those slender, almost animalistic legs – they're so unexpected! They imbue the desk with a strange sense of animation, as if it might leap away at any moment. This contrast is further enriched by the ornamental flourishes, like the small brass pulls. And of course the use of colour. The mahogany-red and the pale white walls suggest an interior domestic space with an individual occupying and writing, thinking at this very desk. Curator: That use of space around the object in rendering an environment and context helps to frame the artwork. It is quite striking. Maralian uses colour and subtle tonalities in an unconventional way. It suggests the object is removed in the picture plane but is also inviting. He is presenting us with a feeling. It's as if the desk is breathing. Editor: Yes, absolutely. He's asking us to pause, to consider the silent dialogues between object and person, between intention and reflection. Curator: The desk, then, isn’t just furniture. It’s a portal. I keep picturing a poet wrestling with verses. Or a revolutionary planning their next act. Maybe it is an activist planning, drawing or building his movement. Editor: So we look at a desk. But we also perceive an individual relationship with the object through cultural associations. The colours used and overall composition of this piece are particularly effective and it draws the eye inwards in a pleasing fashion. Curator: I think this has given me a new appreciation for the art of the everyday. It’s a small act of transcendence!