Skirt for a Married Woman c. 20th century

Koniba Diarra from the village of Kolokani made this Skirt for a Married Woman with mud on cloth. The piece has a tight, geometric pattern, built from the repeated application of marks, and you get a real sense of the artist working systematically, making decisions and adjustments as she goes. The mud-painted surface has a beautiful texture. It is quite a feat to get such precision with the medium, and the hand-made quality of the lines gives it a lovely feel, not too slick. Notice the squares filled with cross hatching, and the triangles within them, forming an 'X' shape. I love the way the artist has varied the density of marks, and how the pattern almost seems to breathe, expanding and contracting before our eyes. The edges are soft, like they have been worn, or frayed over time. This work puts me in mind of the drawings of Agnes Martin, where a seemingly rigid grid becomes a space for endless variation. I think that art is always talking to itself, and it doesn't need to shout.