Quilt Patchwork c. 1937

This ‘Quilt Patchwork’ was made by Margaret Linsley, a painter born in the mid 19th century. I love the process here, this isn’t just a painting of a quilt, it is a record of something homespun, homesewn. You can see it in the textures; the way the colours are arranged. It’s like a sampler, or a recipe. The three different quilt blocks are rendered with flat color and pattern, as though each one is meant to suggest a different kind of fabric, a different texture. I am struck by the one with the red plaid. It’s so simple, but it’s also so effective. It reminds me of Agnes Martin, who also used simple grids to create a sense of calm and order. Ultimately, for me, this patchwork embraces the ambiguity of art. It is a painting, but it is also a quilt. It is a representation, but it is also an object in its own right. It is a reminder that art can be many things at once, and that it is up to us to decide what it means.