Curatorial notes
Betty Goodwin made this drawing in a notebook at some point in her life, but when exactly? I don't know... and I think that's okay. She's jotted down some vests, or waistcoats – however you want to call them – using ink and maybe some kind of wash. Goodwin lets her process show. She uses line to describe the edges, but it's the smudgy areas of tone that really do it for me. They convey the weight and feel of the fabric. See how she’s built up those dark areas on the right hand page with layers of grey wash, almost like a stain? It feels like time itself is being laid down on the page. The blue shape behind the vests is so evocative of the human form, and this, for me, speaks to Goodwin's interest in the body as a site of trauma and resilience. I'm reminded a little of Eva Hesse’s playful but tough approach to materials. Both artists show us how art can hold onto the messy, unresolved stuff of life. Art is a space where ambiguity and multiple interpretations can exist, side by side.