Strook naaldkant op een met rood textiel bekleed stuk karton 1910 - 1911

This lace strip by Johanna E. van Nierop, pinned to a red textile-covered board, feels like a drawing with thread, doesn't it? The creamy floral pattern dances against the saturated red, creating a visual rhythm that's both delicate and bold. I imagine Johanna, her brow furrowed in concentration, carefully guiding the needle through the fabric, each stitch building upon the last. What stories did she whisper into this piece as she worked? Did the flowers remind her of a beloved garden, or were they born purely from her imagination? The way the threads loop and intertwine reminds me of my own process of layering paint, where shapes emerge from chaos and find their own unique form. I'm reminded of the work of contemporary artists who explore similar themes of repetition and the handmade, like Ghada Amer's embroidered canvases or Louise Bourgeois's fabric sculptures. Artists, through time, converse through their chosen mediums. The intimate gesture of the hand, the slow, deliberate act of creation – it's a language that transcends time and connects us to the artist's soul.