Chopping Bowl c. 1941

This Chopping Bowl was made by Hester Duany with watercolor. It feels like an act of translation, rendering something solid and tactile into a wash of color. Look at the way the grain of the wood is evoked with these strokes of ochre and brown. See how Duany captures the rough texture, the way the light catches on the edges. It is a painting that is interested in the process as much as it is interested in representing the object. You can imagine Duany really looking at the bowl, turning it over in her hands, feeling its weight and shape, and responding to that with these translucent layers of paint. The way she models the form feels very intuitive, like she is feeling her way through the shapes. It reminds me a little bit of Morandi and his still lifes, ordinary objects imbued with such care and attention. Like Morandi, Duany finds beauty in the everyday, elevating the mundane to something worthy of contemplation. Art isn't about answers, it's about exploring questions, and Duany is asking us to consider the beauty of simple, functional things.