Trivet c. 1941

LeRoy Griffith rendered this trivet with pencil on paper, and what I see is a kind of love letter to the object. Look at the soft gradations of gray, almost like Griffith is caressing the trivet with his pencil! It’s so tender. I can imagine him carefully observing each curve and angle, translating its solid form into delicate lines on the page. The care and attention to detail transform the mundane trivet into a thing of beauty. It reminds me of those drawings where artists attempt to capture the essence of everyday objects, like a chair or a spoon. It's about seeing the world anew, finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Griffith invites us to see the hidden beauty in the functional, and to appreciate the simple elegance of design. I think other artists throughout time are trying to do the same, making us look again, maybe a little closer this time.