Printed Textiles c. 1940

This printed textile was designed by Ernest Capaldo, but we don't know when. Just look at the colours, the earthy red with the unbleached cream, and the bold black lines! It's all about the process, you can almost feel the artist playing with the blocks, seeing how the images line up, or not. Capaldo’s choice of textile as a medium feels crucial here. The roughness of the weave, the slight imperfections in the printing, they all add to the raw energy of the piece. I’m especially drawn to the way the red floods out to the edges, bleeding into the fringe like a sunset. Thinking about this, it puts me in mind of someone like Henri Matisse, and his cut-outs, where the physical act of cutting and arranging shapes became a way of thinking through colour and form. And, like Matisse, Capaldo shows us that art isn't about perfection, it’s about the joy of making.