The Silk Rainforest 1975

Sheila Hicks made "The Silk Rainforest" with threads that she dyed in various shades. The palette of greens, blues, and browns, dotted with creamy whites, speaks to an intuitive understanding of color harmony. It's less about representation and more about the experience of color itself. The texture is compelling. The work presents as a solid plane from afar, but up close, it's clear that Hicks constructed the piece from individual threads that create small but definite shifts and breaks in the overall image. See how the threads bunch and gather to create thick ridges. The creamy whites are clustered in seed-like shapes that float across the surface of the work. Hicks is in conversation with artists like Anni Albers, who worked at the Bauhaus weaving workshop. Both artists pushed the boundaries of textile art, and challenged the dominance of painting and sculpture. The loose ends present in “The Silk Rainforest” show a spirit of ongoing experimentation and openness that defies fixed meanings.