Preserve Jar c. 1936

John Matulis made this 'Preserve Jar,' with what looks like colored pencil on paper. There's a realness to it—the jar's cylindrical form, its mottled surface—but it also feels dreamlike, suspended. I'm struck by the artist's careful layering of color. There are brown hues, sure, but also hints of red, and even purple shadows that give the jar depth. You can almost feel the push and pull of the artist's hand, building up the image from the ground up. It reminds me of Giorgio Morandi’s still lifes. He created these quiet, intimate paintings of bottles and jars. Matulis is definitely part of this lineage, finding beauty in the everyday. It’s funny how these humble objects can hold so much meaning. The way an artist transforms the mundane into something profound, that's the real magic. And that's what keeps the conversation of painting alive.