Jarretelgordel van zalmkleurig satijnband c. 1920 - 1930

This is a garter belt made from salmon-colored satin ribbon, by Luxia. Right away, you notice that the maker's focus is on the process of construction. Look at the horizontal band; it’s pieced together from strips that create this kind of patchwork grid. And how the lower straps gather in these tight, almost frenetic shirrings? It's like the material itself is resisting, bunching up, creating a textural tension that contrasts the smooth, sleek surface of the satin. I love this push and pull. What strikes me is the way Luxia embraces the physicality of the medium, how she turns something so inherently delicate into a dynamic form. You know, in a way, art-making is like that, too – taking something soft, like an idea or a feeling, and wrestling it into something solid, something that holds its shape. It reminds me of what Eva Hesse was doing with latex and rope, finding strength in vulnerability, making something beautiful out of resistance. Is it a functional object, or pure sculpture? I love that it lives in that in-between space.