Scarf c. 1987

This "Scarf" was made by an anonymous artist, and looking at it, I’m reminded of how artmaking is often about setting up a framework and then letting the process take over. The dark ground of the scarf feels like a night sky, speckled with hand-painted motifs in red and blue. There’s a kind of organized chaos, with these imperfect circles and tiny dashes forming patterns within patterns. Each little mark, each dot and dash, feels deliberate yet free. If you look closely at the red border, you can see where the dye has bled slightly, giving it a soft, hazy edge. It's these kinds of imperfections which make the piece so engaging. The whole thing has a rhythm, like a song being sung, reminding me of the work of Rosie Lee Tompkins, another textile artist with an outsider sensibility. I love how this scarf invites us to see the beauty in simplicity, and to embrace the unpredictable nature of the creative process.