Passement van glanzend lichtgroen koord waardoorheen lussen zijn gevlochten c. 1920

This is a sample of woven trim by Gustav Schnitzler, and right away I get this feeling of obsessive making, the kind of slow, repetitive action that yields a particular kind of result. Here the material is thread, but the way it’s worked becomes something else entirely. It’s like drawing in three dimensions, using loops and weaves to build up a surface that has both texture and structure. Look at how the sheen catches the light, giving the green cord a kind of electric energy, like a neon line bent into shape. The loops create a rhythm, a visual pulse that runs across the surface. It reminds me of Hilma af Klint, who used repetitive forms to create these swirling, almost hypnotic compositions. Both artists, though working in totally different mediums, seem interested in the idea of art as a process, as a way of thinking through making. Art becomes a form which embraces ambiguity and multiple interpretations over fixed or definitive meanings.