Doily (Yougoslav) c. 20th century

This doily, probably made in Yugoslavia at some point, presents such an abundance of obsessive, repetitive gestures, doesn’t it? I see so many tiny interwoven knots, slowly, carefully layering up meaning. Imagine the artist, sitting for hours, maybe years, patiently building this thing from nearly nothing. I can relate! When I’m in the studio, I get into a similar state. I make one mark, then another, responding to what’s already there, building something up bit by bit, until it’s finally done. There’s a kind of quiet, stubborn determination to this, it reminds me of the work of Agnes Martin, who also embraced repetition and limitation as a pathway to freedom. The artist seems to be asking: How many ways can you tie a knot? How many times can you do the same thing? And how can you, as an artist, make an ordinary material extraordinary? Artists keep showing each other how to see, and what to do, over and over again, in an endless conversation through time.