Lamp c. 1936

This "Lamp" was made by Ella Josephine Sterling, though when exactly we don’t know, and, it seems, she used watercolour. Look at the way Sterling coaxes the lamp into being with these thin, watery washes. It’s all about process. How do you paint something that is ostensibly clear and lets light pass right through it? She seems to be asking this question. The base feels weighty, grounded, and the vertical strokes give it a textural quality, as though it were carved or molded. The central part of the lamp, with its looping forms, feels like it's caught in a state of perpetual motion. The lamp overall is a study in contrasts: heavy and light, static and dynamic. It reminds me of some of Morandi’s still life paintings, in its quiet and contemplative mood, its interest in humble domestic objects, and its preoccupation with light. It’s a reminder that art is, at its best, a form of inquiry, a way of seeing and thinking about the world.