Panel (Upholstery Fabric) c. 1902

This piece, an anonymous panel of upholstery fabric, probably made on a loom, repeats these shapes, these teardrop blobs nestled into each other. It’s fascinating to see how even in something functional like fabric, the making is a process, each repeat a kind of variation. The colors here, they’re so muted, almost mossy – a deep teal and a kind of subdued yellow. Look closely, and you can see the texture of the weave, the way the threads crisscross. I think about the person who made this, how their hands moved, how the machine moved creating the pattern. There’s a spot near the bottom where the fabric's worn away, a little glimpse into the fragility of things. It's a little like Hilma af Klint, maybe? – this sense of pattern, but grounded in the everyday. I love that art can be found anywhere, even in something as simple as a piece of fabric. It reminds us that everything we see is filtered through someone's vision.