Mortar and Pestle 1938

Here's Carl Buergerniss's "Mortar and Pestle," made with what looks like watercolor on paper. It's got this really lovely, quiet color palette. I'm drawn to the wood grain he’s managed to conjure. It’s a real skill to get that sheen and depth with watercolor, which can often be so flat. He's not hiding his process; you can see each little stroke and how he builds up the form with these transparent layers, one after the other. It's almost like he's constructing the object right in front of us, revealing the physicality of the medium itself. And look at that subtle curve on the side of the mortar! See how it bulges out ever so slightly? It gives the object such weight and presence. This reminds me of some of those early American folk artists who had a real knack for capturing the essence of everyday objects, not unlike the work of Joseph Stella. Art is nothing if not a conversation across time, a constant remix of ideas and techniques. It’s all about embracing the ambiguity, the endless possibilities of seeing and thinking.