Man at a Table 1925

Stuart Davis made this drawing called ‘Man at a Table’ with ink on paper, we don’t know exactly when. The whole image is made up of stark contrasts, black against white, which feels very modern. The ink looks really fluid, and I love how the lines vary in thickness, from delicate little hatches to big bold blocks. Look at the way he paints the tablecloth – it's almost like an optical illusion! It’s so flat, but he uses this grid of lines to make it feel like it has depth, like he’s playing with perspective and abstraction at the same time. Even the little dog under the table is so cute. Davis was deeply influenced by Cubism and early abstract art, and you can really see that here in the way he simplifies and flattens the space. Think of someone like Juan Gris, another cubist, who was always trying to find new ways of seeing the world. Art’s a conversation, right?