The Dance 1905 - 1910

This piece, "The Dance," attributed to Karl Krenek, was woven at some point in the first half of the 20th century. It's got these three figures, maybe goddesses, each linked to the other by a single hand, caught up in a patterned reverie. Looking at the surface, you can almost feel the weave. Krenek, or whoever made this, wasn’t trying to hide the process. The colors are bold, primary, and the patterns don't try to mimic reality; they embrace it. There's a naiveté here that's really appealing, like someone dreaming up their own rules. Take the dresses, for instance. Each one is a different pattern, but they all share this slightly wonky geometry. The lines aren’t perfect, the circles aren’t round, and the colors don’t quite match. That kind of dissonance is where the magic happens. It feels handmade, thought-through, personal. It reminds me a bit of the Vienna Secession, maybe Klimt, but more grounded, less precious. It's a dance of ideas, materials, and, of course, of women.