Thoth Tarot 1943

Lady Frieda Harris made this 'Thoth Tarot' with paint, and maybe some ink, sometime in the 20th century. You can see that she’s working with these repeating, radiating lines, like echoes of a central form, that suggest movement and energy, like a process of continual emanation. Looking closer, there’s this feeling of layering and transparency, the way colors blend and bleed into each other. The central cup and golden flower have a vivid clarity, but above this, the lines that make up the background melt together, and almost seem to be falling into the cup. It has an emotional quality; like a slow burn, or a dream unfolding. I think of Hilma af Klint. She explored mystical and spiritual themes in abstract ways. Like Klint, Harris embraces the idea of art as a tool for exploring the unseen. These paintings aren’t just about what they depict; they’re about the possibilities of seeing beyond the surface.