Side Chair c. 1937

"Side Chair" was crafted by Jack Bochner, and it invites us to consider how everyday objects can be seen with new eyes. There’s a real focus on process here; you can see it in the simple execution of the watercolour or gouache, a sort of directness in the colour palette too, which is mostly variations on brown. It’s like Bochner is saying, "I’m not trying to trick you. This is what it is." It's like he's trying to capture not just the chair but the idea of chair-ness. Look closely at the chair leg on the left-hand side, the way the shadows suggest the roundness of the bulbous forms. Bochner’s handling of the medium is straightforward, with little to no blending, giving it a kind of graphic quality which reminds me of the work of Alex Katz. Of course, Katz's images are much more polished and sleek, while this has a hand-made quality. Ultimately this piece leaves us thinking about art as a means of looking closely and making ordinary objects extraordinary.