Toleware Sugar Bowl c. 1938

This toleware sugar bowl, by Philip Johnson, is like looking at a memory through paint. The colors are simple, almost folk-art naive, with these direct, bold roses and leaves on the lid. It's charming, but what gets me is the surface. You can see the hand of the artist so clearly. Look at the black backdrop, it’s as if Johnson mixed the pigment himself, creating this kind of chalky, matte quality. The base is particularly telling, it's almost like the artist couldn’t decide if he wanted triangles or loops and ended up with this quirky scalloped edge. I like that ambiguity, that feeling of trying things out. Art is at its best when it embraces that kind of uncertainty. It reminds me a little of what Elizabeth Murray did with everyday objects, turning them into these playful, wonky sculptures. It’s not about perfection; it’s about the conversation, the back-and-forth.