Mantel Clock 1935 - 1942

This is Francis Law Durand's "Mantel Clock", made at an unknown date, probably with coloured pencils on paper. The clock isn’t just a clock, it’s a portal! I love the way Durand approaches the wood grain, creating these warm, inviting tones, and the clock face itself is precise, but then you drop down to this looser vignette of the air balloon. I think Durand lets his hand be his guide, using the pencil in a way that captures a sense of wonder and playfulness. And what a moment, right? A clock within a clock, one measuring time, the other filled with possibility, with a tiny hot air balloon escaping into the ether. Durand reminds me a bit of Joseph Cornell, in the way that he invites us to find new possibilities in the most ordinary objects. It's a gentle reminder that art is a conversation, an exchange of ideas, and that meaning is never fixed.