Pin 1935 - 1942

John Garay made this drawing of a ‘Pin’ with pencil and watercolor, and it's the kind of piece that reminds me artmaking is a process. There's a playful, exploratory quality to the work. Garay uses delicate lines and washes, with the gold color of the pin rendered in careful detail. Notice how the texture of the paper is visible beneath the layers of pigment. In the colored rendering, each twist and curve feels intentional, almost like a meditation on form and surface. Then, compare that to the two light sketches below, where the artist seemed to be playing with the design, feeling the shape out. This drawing reminds me a little of the work of Hilma af Klint, in the way it reduces a complex idea to a simple geometric form. Ultimately, though, both artists show that art is an ongoing conversation, and that there's always room for new interpretations.