Bekledingsstof met dessin "Vliegend hert", in zwart op donkergroen c. 1921

This is ‘Bekledingsstof met dessin “Vliegend hert”’ by Chris Lebeau, an all-over textile design in black on dark green. I think this artwork is super interesting in its all-overness. I find myself picturing Lebeau in their studio, contemplating the challenge of creating a design that repeats seamlessly, a kind of visual echo. You see the vertical black stripes punctuated by these flying stag beetle motifs, like musical notes in a dark, earthy symphony. I get the sense he was drawn to the possibilities of block printing and the visual language of patternmaking, and the conversation between natural forms and decorative art that was happening at the time. It reminds me of William Morris, but through a darker lens! There’s a dialogue here between fine art and craft, between representation and abstraction. I can imagine this design on a chair, on a wall…It invites us to rethink the boundaries of art, to see how creativity can take flight in unexpected forms.