Untitled 1971

This untitled work by Ion Bitzan presents a series of small wooden boxes, each containing a fabric bag marked with enigmatic symbols. Imagine Bitzan collecting these containers, maybe scraps found in his studio or around town. Each bag is carefully placed, then marked with a simple form. There is a quiet and intimate process here: a sort of archeology of signs. The bags have a tactile, handmade quality and the marks remind me of cave paintings or ancient alphabets. I can't help but think of other artists who delve into similar territory, like Cy Twombly, with his scrawled lines and poetic gestures, or maybe even some of the Fluxus artists, who were all about the playful exploration of everyday objects. Ultimately, it's a reflection on the language we use to communicate, and how it can be both deeply personal and universally understood. Artists are constantly building on one another’s ideas, playing with the same questions in different ways.