Woman's Cofradía Tzute c. 1930

This tzute, or cloth, was woven by a Maya woman, and you can see how the process is right there on the surface. The overall impression is one of soft color: mainly red and white, but with little flecks of purple and pale green embroidered in, like details. These colors bring such a sense of warmth to this utilitarian object. It’s almost like a drawing; the pattern of the weaving creates a structure, a kind of grid, on which the maker can embroider. Look at the horizontal rows of zig-zag stitches – they’re like lines drawn with a colored pencil, dividing the cloth into zones. In those zones, the embroidered motifs seem to dance and float. I’m also thinking about the relationship to Agnes Martin’s grid paintings, even though this cloth is from a very different world. It makes you think about the ongoing conversation of abstraction across time and cultures. There's such an embrace of imperfection here, of a kind of off-kilter balance, that is really interesting.