Bracelet c. 1940

This bracelet was made by Roscoe Navasie and lives in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It looks like the silver framework came first, each element carefully placed, with an eye to the overall design. Then the turquoise was carefully set in place, each stone unique, with its own matrix and coloration. I love the way the turquoise pops against the muted silver. The stones are arranged in a grid, but it’s not a rigid grid, the subtle variations in the stones, slightly different shapes, slightly different sizes give it a lively, organic feel. Look closely and you can see the hand of the artist in every detail, from the perfectly placed stones to the subtle tool marks on the silver. It’s a reminder that art is not just about the end result, but also about the process, the journey, the conversation between the artist and the materials. Navasie's work reminds me of the sculptor Eva Hesse, who also embraced imperfection and the beauty of the handmade. And that's what art should be, an ongoing conversation, open to interpretation and embracing the ambiguity of the human experience.