Wooden Spoon 1935 - 1942

This watercolor on paper, titled 'Wooden Spoon', was made by an anonymous artist. You can see the process of artmaking laid bare here, the artist is really trying to figure out how to make a spoon visible on paper. I'm really drawn to the way the artist builds up the form of the spoon with thin washes of brown, creating a sense of depth and volume. The texture is smooth, almost polished. The spoon's surface is rendered with incredible care. The handle, with its subtle curve and the little hook detail, especially feels intimate, like a portrait. I see a connection between this piece and the work of someone like Giorgio Morandi, who also found endless inspiration in the simple forms of everyday objects. And like Morandi, this anonymous artist reminds us that art is about looking closely and finding beauty in the unexpected.