Neck Band 1935 - 1942

Mary Berner made these studies of neck bands, probably using watercolor or colored pencil. I imagine her hunched over, carefully plotting each stitch in colored pencil. The bands themselves seem to be floating, depicted on separate pages in a vertical orientation that emphasizes their elongated form. I wonder, are these transcriptions from life? Or pure invention? It's interesting to see the different patterns side by side, variations on the same theme. The one on the right is more complex, with geometric shapes in blue and yellow that remind me of some kind of code. They remind me a little of Hilma af Klint's paintings, spiritual and mysterious. The other has a simpler zigzag motif in muted tones. It's nice to see her making studies like this – a quiet, intimate act of observation. It is an exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. Painting embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meaning over fixed or definitive readings.