Bandbox Design c. 1937

Martin Partyka, who lived a long life, made this Bandbox Design. It's a symphony of pinks, blues, and greens, laid down with a decisive hand. I can almost feel the artist at work, shifting the design, probably intuitively, until it all locked into place. I wonder what Partyka was thinking about when he made this? Is it just an exercise in formal beauty, or is there something more going on? There's a kind of stage-like quality to this – the draped fabric and the pair of decorative birds. It's almost like a theatre set, ready for a performance. There's a connection here, not just to folk art but to all forms of visual expression. We're all, in a way, riffing on what came before, turning over ideas in our minds and seeing them anew. This Bandbox Design, with all its quirks and charms, is part of that ongoing conversation.