Bow-tied in the Middle (#273) 1996

Jessica Stockholder made this installation, Bow-tied in the Middle (#273), using different materials to create an environment that is both visually engaging and conceptually stimulating. The colour palette is immediately striking, isn’t it? A vibrant purple backdrop with a sharp yellow, creating a dynamic contrast that draws you in. I imagine Stockholder, shifting, adding, and subtracting, her intuition guiding the process. What was she thinking when she decided to thread that thin orange cable from the purple structure all the way across the room? These are such thoughtful choices, carefully considered but also playful. It reminds me of other artists who explore similar themes of space and colour, like Judy Pfaff, maybe. Ultimately, Bow-tied in the Middle invites us to see the world in a new way, to find beauty in unexpected places, and to embrace the possibilities of art as a form of embodied expression. It’s like Stockholder is asking us to join in the conversation, to bring our own experiences and perspectives to the mix, and to see what new meanings emerge.