Dress 1935 - 1942

This is “Dress,” made by Julie C. Brush, who lived from 1855 to 1995, using who knows what! I find the layering of colours and brushstrokes here really sets the tone for the entire piece, it seems Brush is thinking about art-making as a process of building things up, like a garden. Looking at this piece, the fabric looks kind of thin, the colours are opaque in some places and translucent in others, giving a kind of shimmer to the floral pattern. Those tiny details, like the miniature dabs of paint that form the flowers, those are really important! They remind us how much work and focus goes into even what seems like the most effortless of paintings. There's this one little spot down at the bottom, a brown patch almost like a stain. To me, it's like a little wink from the artist, like they're saying, "Hey, it's okay to be imperfect. I'm reminded here of Florine Stettheimer, someone else who found an incredible freedom in their own artistic language. I love how art lets us have these conversations across time and space.