Table Scarf c. 1938

Erwin Schwabe made this beautiful "Table Scarf" with paint, and I can just imagine the quiet concentration it took. The scarf's pattern is a grid of diamonds, each holding a little flower. I see Schwabe carefully building up the image, line by line. The colors are soft—reds, greens, and blacks—but the details are sharp. It’s like he's trying to capture something really delicate and precious. He must have enjoyed working with these miniature shapes, the rhythm of their repetition across the cloth, a real pleasure to see. It reminds me of the work of other painters who used pattern and repetition to create meditative surfaces. Agnes Martin, for instance, or even some of the early modernists who were interested in folk art. I think all of these works explore similar territory, looking into ways of slowing us down, helping us look carefully, and inviting us to contemplate the beauty of simple things.