Dimensions: support: 388 x 291 mm
Copyright: © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2014 | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have Henri Laurens's "Bottle and Glass." I'm struck by how these simple shapes—the browns and creams—create such a sense of quiet contemplation. What do you make of it? Curator: I see a playful conversation between representation and abstraction. The newspaper clipping hints at reality, while the geometric forms dance with our perception, almost mocking how we seek meaning. Editor: Mocking? That's a strong word! Curator: Perhaps, but isn't there a delightful irony in searching for clarity within such deliberate ambiguity? Laurens invites us to question our assumptions about seeing. Editor: That gives me a lot to think about. I hadn't considered it in that light. Curator: Art's all about perspective, isn't it? It’s never a closed book.
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This is one of a series of austere collages made by Laurens in 1916 and 1917, each made with the same restricted range of materials: a white background, pieces of brown paper, occasionally some black paper or newsprint, and black and white chalk. Here Laurens represents the label for the wine bottle with a newspaper advertisement for a periodical, La Médécine Végétale, which has the strap line, ‘Everyone his own doctor’. The reason for this choice is unknown but it may have been a joke about the medicinal qualities of wine. Gallery label, September 2004
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