Trivet c. 1942

Violet Hartenstein made this drawing of a trivet, a humble household object, at an unknown date, using delicate watercolor. Look at the gentle gradations of tone she coaxes out of the paint! Hartenstein’s trivet hovers on the page, rendered with a quiet, almost reverent attention to detail. The color is muted, a kind of hushed grey-brown, and yet within that narrow range, there’s a whole world of subtle variation. See how the light seems to catch on the edges of the metal, giving it a soft, almost pearlescent glow? The shadows suggest depth, making the trivet feel both solid and ethereal, as if it's caught between worlds. This reminds me a little of Agnes Martin’s drawings – the same kind of quiet intensity, the same sense of finding the sublime in the everyday. Art isn’t always about making grand statements; sometimes, it’s about paying attention, about seeing the beauty in the ordinary.