Floor Piece V 1973

Harmony Hammond created this floor piece, and I can imagine her hands working intuitively, coiling it into being, shifting colors, and allowing forms to emerge through a process of doing. I sympathize with Hammond's tactile approach. Imagine her thinking about the domestic sphere, taking the traditional craft of rug-making, and turning it into a site of inquiry, of asking questions. There are all these circles within circles, each coil a new proposition, an intuitive response to the last, like a painter adding layer upon layer, each mark informing the next. The textures, colors, and the physicality of the materials all shape our experience. See how the concentric rings resonate outward, creating a sense of expansion? It reminds me of some of the work of Ree Morton, how an artist can take something simple and turn it into something so open to multiple interpretations. Artists are always in conversation, building upon one another’s ideas across time. And with pieces like this, there's an openness to ambiguity and uncertainty, embracing the many meanings that art can offer.