Side Chair c. 1937

This drawing of a side chair was made by Edna C. Rex, but sometime before 1995, with what looks like watercolor or gouache on paper. The way Rex renders this chair, it's like she's trying to capture not just its form, but its essence, its history, its very sit-ability. I'm especially drawn to the surface of the chair seat and back, where she's built up these delicate layers of brownish-pink hues to suggest the pattern of the fabric. The lines are soft, almost tentative, as if she’s feeling her way around the object. It reminds me of some of Giorgio Morandi's still lifes; that same kind of quiet observation, that same devotion to the humble and overlooked. And in both cases, it's a reminder that art isn’t just about what you see, but how you see.