Printing Press Roller c. 1938

Manuel G. Runyan made this drawing of a printing press roller at an unknown date. The brown shades used to create the object are fascinating. They remind me of the way Morandi would mix colours, the subtle gradations giving it a slightly unreal, dreamlike quality. The layering of tones on the cylinder is really beautiful. The way the light falls on the roller gives it a sculptural quality. The end of the cylinder is really nicely rendered, the dark hole giving it a strange, almost unsettling presence. There's a tension between the smooth, polished surface of the roller and the slightly rough, almost raw quality of the hole. This drawing reminds me of the work of Vija Celmins, who also draws everyday objects with incredible precision and attention to detail. Like Celmins, Runyan seems to be interested in the way that art can transform the ordinary into something extraordinary. There’s something quietly radical about celebrating the beauty of everyday objects, don’t you think?