Vase 1900 - 1910

This vase was made between 1894 and 1911 by the Grueby Faience Company. It's funny, because while it's not a painting, it's all about the surface. Imagine the hand of the maker coaxing that clay, feeling the form emerge, pushing and pulling. That deep, matte green, like a forest floor, but also somehow artificial. Is it moss, is it mould, is it a glaze? It’s this weird tension between nature and artifice that's so compelling. I can feel the artist searching, maybe a little lost, but definitely committed. The vertical ribs, like stylized leaves, give it structure, but also a kind of awkwardness. It's not perfect, and that's what I like about it. It reminds me of the Arts and Crafts movement, that desire to get back to handmade things, to find beauty in imperfection. It's like they were saying, "Let's slow down, let's feel the material, let's make something real." And that's a conversation that artists are still having today.