Salt Shaker c. 1936

Henry Meyer's "Salt Shaker" is a drawing of a household object whose appeal lies in its design. It reminds me of Agnes Martin's work: quiet, pale, unemphatic. I imagine Meyers hunched over his drafting table, meticulously sketching out the shaker’s contours. There’s a real sense of care in those thin, precise lines, a gentle touch. The grey pencil tones create a subtle range of values, giving the object a three-dimensional presence. The shaker has a classic, almost ancient urn form, and the small diagram in the corner makes me think of the architecture drawings of Palladio. Meyers' choice of subject matter is interesting too. He transforms a mundane object into something worth contemplating. It prompts us to think about how design elevates our everyday lives. Artists are always borrowing and reinterpreting ideas from the past, remixing things, and keeping the conversation going.