Gold Spike c. 1936

Sebastian Simonet created this mysterious image of a golden spike in paint. The color is so warm, it almost glows. It’s interesting how he's used hard lines to define form, but the way the golden color is handled makes it feel almost translucent, like stained glass. It reminds me of how we build things, both physically and conceptually, starting with a blueprint and then layering on the substance, the feeling. The thin, precise outline of a spike to the left, set against the rendering of the object, is like a diagram of this process. And look at the deep black background, it gives the spike a kind of iconic presence, like a religious symbol. It makes me think of the way Joseph Stella took industrial forms and gave them this kind of spiritual aura. It's all about how we keep reimagining what's important.