Child's Dress c. 1938

Eleanor Gausser made this drawing of a child’s dress on paper, and it’s like she was trying to understand the world by remaking it. Look at how she's built up this plaid! It's all these tiny little marks, and those marks together make up the whole thing. It's almost pointillist. The blue lines are so delicate, like threads of light weaving through the brown. The way she's handled the fabric makes me think about all the work and care that goes into making something so simple, something meant to be worn and lived in. That little belt cinching the waist – it's so precise, so carefully rendered. You can almost feel the tightness of the fabric. Maybe it's a symbol of constriction, or of nurturing – hard to say. Gausser's attention to detail reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin and her grids. Of course, Martin was all about abstraction. Gausser focused on humble subjects, but both artists share a similar dedication to meditative mark making. They show us how much can be found in the quiet repetition of a simple gesture.