Wooden Shoe 1939

Samuel Faigin made this object-portrait of a ‘Wooden Shoe’, it looks like in watercolor, with fine strokes and translucent washes on paper. I wonder if it was a study or something he just knocked out for fun? It’s so matter-of-fact, yet so mysterious, too. What’s with the little sketch underneath? It's like Faigin's working out what interests him – and so the process becomes a site of inquiry, not just for the artist but for us as viewers. He's thinking about form, about colour – the grey-black of the shoe against the red of the strap is a strong, bold choice. I bet his work was in conversation with that of other artists from his lifetime, a conversation that continues through today. After all, art doesn't exist in a vacuum; it’s all about the exchange of ideas, across time, inspiring each other’s creativity. It's a reminder that painting is a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.