Compote c. 1936

John Tarantino made this compelling artwork, *Compote* with watercolor. It’s a painting that makes you think about seeing and how seeing becomes knowing. The cool palette – the blues and greens – gives the object a certain kind of weight, but also a kind of lightness; it’s like looking at glass. The marks are smooth, and they create the illusion of a reflective surface. The marks show the artist is so in tune with the process, it’s almost meditative. It reminds me that the act of artmaking, of seeing, can be its own kind of knowledge. The color choice is just perfect, a stroke of genius. It makes me think of Manet, particularly in the way the composition is arranged. And, just like Manet, the interpretation is open and never set in stone.