Printing Press Roller c. 1938

Manuel G. Runyan made this painting of a Printing Press Roller, and it's like he’s handing us a tool, an object to consider. I imagine him observing it closely, perhaps even holding it as he paints. The warm, brown hues and the way the light gently falls across the surface give it such a tactile quality. You can almost feel the smoothness of the wood. It’s interesting to think about the act of printing, of replicating images and words. Runyan isolates this tool, and asks us to contemplate it. And you know, it makes me think about how we, as artists, are all in conversation with each other. Each painting becomes a print in itself, a kind of reproduction of a moment, an idea, a feeling. It might be quiet and still, but it’s buzzing with potential!