Desk Box c. 1940

Leo Drozdoff made this ‘Desk Box’ with pencil and watercolor wash, at an undetermined date. The box is a warm brown colour. It looks like it has been gently coaxed from the page, through layering and adjustment. You can imagine Drozdoff, patiently applying each layer, allowing the watercolour to bloom and settle, before building up the next. There is a tension between precision and fluidity, with the hard edges of the box contrasting the subtle gradations of colour. Looking at the delicate rendering of light and shadow, I wonder what else Drozdoff made. Did he make similar images? Were they studies for something else, maybe a larger painting or a design project? It makes me think about other artists, like Morandi, and how they return to the same subject matter, finding endless variations in light and form. Each artwork feels like a part of a much longer conversation between artists.