Organelle 2 2014

Rodrigo Franzao made ‘Organelle 2’ with fabric and wire, and it hangs a little like a quilt. The bright palette and patchwork squares remind me of process. There is a sense of building, of making something from fragments that have caught his eye. The material presence of the work is striking. The texture of the fabric varies across the surface. Some patches are smooth and taut, others seem crumpled or puckered. Then there are the wiry tendrils snaking across the blocks, disrupting the order of things. Take the lower left corner. The deep purple square almost vibrates against the stripes of reds and pinks, held together by the little burst of wire. It’s messy, full of potential, a bit unruly! This tension, between structure and chaos, is what makes the piece sing. There’s something of Sheila Hicks in the work, I think, in the use of textiles and the way the materials are allowed to speak for themselves. It is a conversation, an exchange of ideas that doesn’t offer easy answers, but embraces the messiness of being.