Coverlet Fragment c. 1936

This coverlet fragment was made by Alois E. Ulrich sometime in his lifetime, which stretched from 1855 to 1995. It’s a grid of cream and blueish squares, an imperfect weave that creates a soft, almost hazy impression. I think about the person who made this, patiently interlacing the threads. The texture looks like a tight but uneven weave; you can imagine the hand movements, the subtle shifts in tension. Each little square is like a brushstroke, and the whole piece becomes an act of meditative mark-making. You can see where some of the blue bled into the cream squares giving the impression of a faded and worn cloth. There’s something about this kind of textile work that reminds me of Agnes Martin’s grids, or even some of the early minimalist painters. It has the same quietness, the same dedication to process, as if making the artwork is as much about being in the studio as it is about the final product. It’s a conversation across time and media, a reminder that artists are always building on each other’s ideas, transforming them into something new.