Vouwwaaier van fijne zijden zwarte gaas waaraan zwarte stroken, op een zwart kunststof montuur c. 1920 - 1930

This folding fan of fine black gauze, edged with black strips, is mounted on black plastic. A sea of black feathers ripple across its span, each one a soft, dark wave. I imagine Gabrielle Chanel, the artist, gathering handfuls of these delicate materials, letting her fingers trail across the surface, feeling the give and the fall. Does she arrange, layer, and allow the dark strokes to land where they may? It’s interesting to think about the process of constructing this kind of work; how the artist has dealt with the problems of support and surface. It's an interesting challenge to try and make something visually interesting out of almost nothing at all. There's a sense of play here, that speaks to the long tradition of the artist's work. Like any great artist, Chanel is in dialogue with her peers, and with the long history of art, finding her own place in the conversation.