Chest of Drawers c. 1939

Charles Henning made this "Chest of Drawers" sometime in his life, though we don't know exactly when. The whole thing feels like a kind of fever dream, rendered with muted browns, greens, and reds, and it reminds me of someone working through a memory, layering one hazy image over another. Look closely, and you'll see tiny figures inhabiting the surfaces of the drawers, caught in various acts. On the middle drawer, there's a figure, maybe a hunter, posed next to a running deer. The paint application is thin and washy, letting the underlying ground peek through, and the details are blurred, like half-remembered details. There’s something deeply personal and idiosyncratic about Henning's vision, and it reminds me of Bill Traylor, another artist who translated lived experiences into captivating visual narratives. It’s a reminder that artmaking is an ongoing conversation. These artists invite us to consider the world through their unique lens.