Odtini 1900 - 1925

This Odtini at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, made by an anonymous artist, is a red field of symbols, meticulously placed. I imagine the maker, patiently stitching each shape, each reflective disc. There’s an order here, but not a rigid one. The artist must have been in the zone, working at it, adjusting and responding to the emerging image. Do you see the large starburst in the center and the elephants near the bottom? Maybe these shapes are part of a story, or a prayer. It's a language of geometric forms and colors. I look at this, and I think about Agnes Martin and her grids, or the visionary textiles of outsider artist, Judith Scott. Artists across time have always been in conversation, riffing on each other's ideas, finding new ways to express what it means to be human. It's a process, a back-and-forth, a constant questioning. And sometimes, the most profound statements are made in the quietest, most unassuming gestures.