Servet van linnendamast met klimop c. 1904

This linen damask cloth with ivy, by Chris Lebeau, is a real exercise in seeing; how much can you do with one colour? The texture is so crucial. The pattern isn't printed, but woven into the cloth. This means that the surface feels smooth but has incredible depth. It gives this work a ghostly quality, like a memory or a half-formed idea. Look closely at the way the ivy pattern and snowflakes are woven with geometric precision. But then, the edges of the leaves are softened so there's nothing too rigid. It's as though the artist allows the material and process to breathe, and to become part of the image. Lebeau was a contemporary of artists like Mondrian, who embraced pure abstraction. And in the right light, this could almost be a minimal geometric painting. But in other ways, it reminds me of the work of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. I think that the beauty of art comes from the way it embraces so many voices.