Infant's High Chair c. 1937

This is Mario De Ferrante’s watercolour of an infant’s high chair. Watercolour, for me, is all about process. The way the washes dry into each other, the little blooms and blossoms that appear as it dries. It's a medium that embraces chance, and I love that. Look how he’s layered the paint to create the subtle shadows and highlights, giving the chair a sense of depth. The colour is so rich, almost like a sepia photograph. Notice the delicate lines of the spindles and the way they curve to form the back of the chair. There's a kind of precision in the way the artist has depicted each element of the chair, but there's also a looseness, a fluidity. I’m reminded of Agnes Martin, who used very subtle lines and washes of color to create a sense of calm and serenity. Like Martin, De Ferrante has created a work that invites us to slow down and contemplate the beauty of the everyday. Ultimately, this painting of a simple high chair is a reminder that art can be found in the most unexpected places.