Panel 20th century

This panel was made by Nupe people. Its process is so clear; you can almost feel the rhythm of its making. The cloth is a series of stripes in brown, cream and maroon. These anchor columns of little rectangles and hourglass shapes in red, yellow, gray and green. It’s really interesting to think about how these elements work together. There’s such a sense of order overall, but when you start to look closely, the regularity breaks down. Some of those horizontal stripes are actually different widths and densities, others bleed into one another. Then those vertical shapes feel really different from one another, like the artist was interested in how slight variations can create a whole new feeling. You see something similar in the work of Gee’s Bend quilters, who turn necessity into a virtue, letting their unique circumstances guide their hands. With this piece, like those quilts, there's no perfect repetition here, just a human touch.