Water Yoke 1938

Albert Geuppert’s “Water Yoke” is a delicate rendering in watercolor of a heavy piece of farm equipment. I can imagine the artist patiently building up the tones, capturing the texture of the worn wood. The artist has focused on the gentle curves and hollows of the yoke, a shape that almost mimics a mouth. But what stories could this object tell? The chains are especially cool – slightly rusty and looking surprisingly fragile against the creamy paper. The slight tonal variations in the wood feel really truthful. It’s a humble subject matter, but painted with such care and attention. The more I look, the more the yoke seems like a found sculpture. What Geuppert has done here feels connected to the work of outsider artists who transform everyday objects through the act of close looking and rendering. They create a sense of wonder around these things. It’s a reminder that art can be found in unexpected places, and that artists often inspire each other across time and distance.