Pie Dish c. 1936

Joseph Sudek made this watercolour and graphite of a ‘Pie Dish’, and I can’t help but imagine him at his table, carefully setting up the dish just so, ready to be captured. The way he's handled the blue design on the dish, it's almost like a whisper – these delicate, soft strokes, creating little figures that invite you to lean in closer, to decode their story. And that gold trim? A subtle wink, maybe a playful nod to fancier things, but kept in check, understated. I’m thinking about Giorgio Morandi and his still life paintings of bottles. Sudek seems to be in conversation with him here. I imagine both of them, heads tilted slightly, contemplating the quiet drama of everyday objects. With each stroke, they reveal a hidden poetry, an invitation to see the extraordinary in the ordinary.