Flatiron 1935 - 1942

Maurice Van Felix made this drawing of a flatiron. It’s all graphite on paper, so the colors are muted, almost monochrome, but that doesn’t make it boring. The artist really considered the process of representing this object, and they haven’t obscured any of the work that went into this. I love the material qualities of this drawing. You can almost feel the weight of the iron, can’t you? Look closely and you can see the graphite applied in layers. Notice how the artist used tiny marks to build up the shadows, especially around the base and handle. It is like they were trying to describe every little texture of the metal. It reminds me a bit of Vija Celmins’ drawings of everyday objects, or even some of the still life drawings of Morandi. There is something beautiful in this humble approach, which really resonates. Art doesn’t need to be flashy to be profound, right?