Candlestick c. 1936

Lillian Causey made this drawing of a candlestick with pencil on paper. It’s a study in form and repetition. The way she renders light and shadow is so interesting; it feels both precise and a little wonky, like a memory of a candlestick rather than the candlestick itself. The lines are so controlled yet there’s a sense of playfulness in the way she builds up the intricate details. I am thinking particularly about the floral motifs, how they repeat throughout the design, creating a rhythm that's almost musical. The texture she achieves with just pencil is really impressive, especially in the way she suggests the reflective surface of the metal. The density of the marks creates a certain weight. There's something about the drawing’s directness that reminds me of the architectural drawings of Louise Bourgeois. Both artists share a similar interest in translating three-dimensional space into a two-dimensional plane. Art like this is a reminder that what we see is not always what we get.