Barkcloth panel c. 1930

This barkcloth panel was made by Mbuti artists with dye on barkcloth and is now held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The color palette here is so earthy, grounding – burnt orange and warm brown. I imagine the process was very physical. I'm really drawn to the way the paint is applied; you can almost feel the hand of the artist. It looks like they used simple tools, maybe just their fingers or a twig, to dab and drag the dye across the surface. The texture is amazing; it's like the barkcloth itself is part of the painting. There are all these little imperfections and variations in the surface that make it so unique. There is one mark, a splodge or cluster of dots, that seems to repeat throughout the entire piece, almost like a signature or a motif. It’s a reminder that art is not always about perfection; it's about embracing the beauty of imperfection. Agnes Martin used a very limited vocabulary of marks to evoke a deep sense of space and light. This panel resonates with the same sensibility.