Wooden Spoon Rack c. 1941

Sarkis Erganian, painted this watercolor image of a Wooden Spoon Rack sometime in the twentieth century. The flat surface gives the objects a kind of weightlessness, but there's something very tactile about the way he renders the grain of the wood. I'm imagining Erganian turning the spoon rack in the light, and trying to capture its essence. It's a humble subject, but he treats it with a sculptor's eye. There's a quiet beauty here. The color palette is muted – lots of browns and grays. The thin paint application emphasizes line and shape over color. I think of Morandi and his still lifes of bottles, or maybe even Agnes Martin and her minimalist grids – and their shared interest in the beauty of humble objects. It's like he's saying, "Look closely, there's magic in the mundane." And I think he is right.