Sierstuk voor een avondmantel van gemengde kant met rozenhaag 1915

This Sierstuk voor een avondmantel van gemengde kant met rozenhaag—or, trimming for an evening mantle of mixed lace with rose hedge— was made by Martha Berkers, using thread and a needle, like drawing in space. The interplay between opacity and transparency is gorgeous. Look at the way the densely worked roses and leaves give way to an openwork grid. The texture is so delicate and yet, it’s surprisingly robust, like it could hold its own. I love the idea that the artist is not just creating an image, but actually building this structure from almost nothing. If you look closely at the individual stitches, you can almost see the artist’s hand moving across the fabric, one tiny gesture at a time. It’s a meditation, a way of marking time, and a form of world-building all at once. I am reminded of a more contemporary artist, Harmony Hammond, and her use of found materials and repetition to create work that is both visually striking and conceptually rich. The beauty of art is its ability to embrace ambiguity and multiple interpretations, and its function as an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time.