Glass Bowl c. 1940

Michael Trekur’s ‘Glass Bowl’ shows us a blue vessel afloat on a plain background. It is rendered in a style reminiscent of technical drawing, but something is off, or rather, on! Look at the light and shadow; the artist struggles to describe the object in front of him, but this labor of love becomes the artwork. It must have taken tremendous patience and an eye for detail to capture the essence of this glass bowl in watercolor. I can imagine Michael, hunched over his paper, squinting at the light as he tries to replicate the translucent quality of the glass. Each brushstroke seems tentative yet deliberate. There’s a lovely ambiguity to the way the artist has handled the paint, embracing the fluidity and transparency of the medium. We see echoes of Morandi's still-life paintings, where everyday objects become vehicles for contemplation and introspection. It’s through this humble glass bowl that the artist speaks to the enduring power of observation, inviting us to slow down and appreciate the beauty in the mundane.