Table c. 1937

This is Dorothy Carpenter Thorpe's 'Table', standing at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Just look at the circular glass top! And the verticality of those rods… they give a feeling of both structure and lightness. I imagine Thorpe carefully choosing each material, feeling its weight and texture, considering how light would bounce off the glass and metal. What might she have been thinking when she designed this table? Was she aiming for a sense of modern elegance, a streamlined functionality? The way the light catches the metallic rods makes me think of other artists who were exploring similar ideas - maybe some of the Bauhaus designers, who were thinking about how to bring art and industry together. For me, this table is not just a functional object. It's a statement about form and light. And in this way, it sparks a conversation across time and place, a reminder that all artists are inspired by those who came before.