Shawl c. 20th century

This generous, deep blue shawl was made by an anonymous artist using what looks like indigo dye on woven fabric. It’s just so beautiful, and makes me think about the artist who made it, patiently working with their hands, shifting and adjusting the fabric, coaxing the color into being. I imagine them being so absorbed in the process, letting the dye do its thing, feeling the weight and texture of the fabric, and the deep, almost inky blue really saturates the whole thing. I love the way the color varies slightly across the surface, like looking at the ocean, and how those variations give the whole thing a kind of inner life. The fringe at the bottom dances with the stillness of the rectangular form. It reminds me of the work of other artists, like the quilters of Gee’s Bend. I love how the artist's singular vision converses across time and medium, and how the history of abstract painting embraces the uncertainty and ambiguity of expression.