Bracelet c. 1965

This silver bracelet was made by a Navajo (Diné) artist, and sits here in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It’s got such a cool, architectural feel, doesn’t it? Like a miniature sculpture for your wrist. The thing that grabs me about this piece is the play between the smooth curves of the silver and the sharply defined lines in the center. It's like the artist is having a conversation between fluidity and structure. The texture, the way the light catches those grooves, you can almost feel the hand that shaped it. It reminds me of how sometimes I start a painting with these big, loose gestures and then slowly, slowly, I start to introduce smaller, more detailed elements. There’s something so satisfying about the way this bracelet combines simplicity with complexity. You know, it reminds me a bit of some of the work of Eva Hesse, in the way that she played with form and material. But here, with this bracelet, there’s also this sense of tradition, a connection to the past, that makes it really special.