Gatelegged (Table) Ball & Claw Feet c. 1939

The flat planes and rounded curves of this table are rendered with precision and care. You can almost feel the artist, Joseph Sudek, carefully measuring each line and angle. I wonder, was this a commission? Or did Sudek simply find beauty in the everyday? The dark wood grain of the tabletop contrasts against the stark background. It gives the impression of a stage set, a piece of theatre. Those 'Ball and Claw' feet, though – they're something else. They remind me of Philip Guston's late work, cartoonish but somehow menacing. Painters often look to other painters but we also look to the history of objects. We are all in an ongoing conversation – maybe even a kind of collaborative jam session. The challenge of representing a simple object can reveal new perspectives, unexpected harmonies, and surprising dissonances.