Neckerchief c. 1937

Sylvia Dezon made this drawing of a neckerchief some time in the mid-20th century, and it has a kind of quiet, meditative feel. You know, sometimes it's the most unassuming things that can be so evocative! Just imagine Dezon, carefully working out the geometry of this simple item. There’s something incredibly satisfying in that act of taking the everyday and turning it into art. The pale hues and the delicate lines give it a sense of calm, a feeling of being paused in time. It reminds me of Agnes Martin’s grids, but softer, more domestic. I wonder if Dezon ever thought about the history of painting, about how artists have always looked to the world around them, finding beauty in the ordinary. I think she'd be amused by the thought that we're still looking, still learning from what she left behind. Artists never really work in isolation, you know? We’re all in a constant conversation.