Pipe and Glass 1923

Juan Gris painted 'Pipe and Glass' sometime around 1923, and it feels like he’s wrestling with how to flatten and reassemble the world. Check out the way he's laid down these muted greens and reds, playing with light and shadow. You can almost feel him squinting at the scene, simplifying it, and then, with a burst of confidence, outlining the key shapes in bold black. It’s like he's trying to build a new kind of vision, one where objects are both present and fragmented. I imagine Gris, pipe in mouth, squinting at these forms, trying to distill the essence of a moment. He's following in the footsteps of Cezanne, Picasso and Braque, but twisting and turning them into something new. It's an intimate conversation with the past and a bold step toward the future. That’s what painting is, right? A chance to see things anew, to keep the conversation going.