Woman's Bag c. 20th century

This ‘Woman's Bag’ was made by a Tuareg artist, and it’s fabricated from leather. The bag is a real object, a practical item but it's also a canvas for a composition made of pattern, texture and color. I see these boxy shapes, almost like abstract building blocks, and they remind me of something Paul Klee might have painted. Look closely, and you'll see the leather is tooled, imprinted with tiny, repetitive designs. And I love the way the artist uses a limited palette of browns, reds, and greens, these ochre colors feel earthy, and hand-made. You can see how the natural qualities of the leather itself, like its grain and imperfections, become part of the artwork. What strikes me most is how this bag collapses the boundaries between art and life. It’s a functional item transformed through decoration into a beautiful and expressive object. I think about Matisse and how his cut-outs feel at once decorative and deeply emotional. In a similar way, this bag presents us with a different way of seeing and experiencing the world.