Red Graze 1967

Sonya Rapoport made this work, titled "Red Graze", with collage on board. There's something about the paleness of the cut-out shape against the densely patterned Toile that feels like a kind of quiet conversation. I wonder what it was like for Rapoport to make this, arranging and re-arranging until it felt right? I see a kind of landscape in the Toile itself – little scenes, figures, and foliage all pressed together. And then this ghostly white form that seems to graze across the surface, leaving traces of itself behind. It almost feels like a memory, or a half-forgotten dream. There's something really intriguing about the way she used pattern and form. It reminds me of what other artists, like Miriam Schapiro, were doing at the time, exploring pattern and decoration in new ways. This piece feels so personal, like a little window into her way of seeing the world.