Velvet panel 1934

Here are two small panels of velvet fabric at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. They were made at an unknown time by an anonymous creator. Imagine the artist, surrounded by fabrics, thinking through colour, how the light falls, and how the fabric might fold. The velvet pile is so soft, almost like a painting, the texture alone offers so much. The one on the left is so dark it almost disappears; it's like a hole, swallowing all the light. The right is red, a warm, gentle, inviting red, which might suggest an interior space. The edges of the panel are pinked, so that they won’t fray. The artist really considered what they were doing. What can be made, how things can be made and how they can work together. Artists are always looking and learning from each other in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas.