Sofa 1935 - 1942

Editor: This is "Sofa," a watercolor and drawing by Nicholas Gorid, made sometime between 1935 and 1942. It's surprisingly delicate. The color palette is restrained. The design, however, strikes me as formal, perhaps even aspirational. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I am intrigued by the artist’s inclusion of symbolic ornament. Consider the wheat tied with ribbons along the frieze, and that repeated decorative element along the top. What does wheat symbolize, do you think? Editor: Harvest, prosperity, maybe nourishment? Things that have to do with survival, or the *good life*? Curator: Exactly. Wheat has been associated with the cyclical rhythms of life for millennia. By including these particular motifs, the artist invokes historical layers of meaning that transform an ordinary piece of furniture. What appears merely decorative might also refer to deeply rooted beliefs. The sofa’s owner is surrounded by symbols of wealth, status, and a well-ordered existence. Do you feel that makes it more comforting, or somehow… colder? Editor: I can see that. It's a way of presenting domesticity as more than just function – but, I don’t know… I feel that I would not dare sitting on it. Perhaps because it is a drawing? Curator: And in a way, isn’t that the function of art? To offer something more than what is already materially present? These symbols elevate the *idea* of “sofa” beyond something purely functional. This idealized object may embody someone’s dream of prosperity made visible. Editor: That’s fascinating. I hadn't considered the aspirational quality beyond just the style. Seeing those layers adds so much more depth to it.