Quilted Bedspread c. 1936

Irene Shaefer made this “Quilted Bedspread” and what strikes me is how she uses watercolor to mimic the texture and patterns of fabric. It’s like she’s painting with cloth in mind, which turns the whole thing into a playful game of representation. Look at how she renders the floral patterns, so lush and almost overflowing, contrasting with the more regimented geometry of the quilt patterns. It’s in those small, cellular shapes, where the color seeps and pools, that you can see the artist really digging into the process. It makes me think of Gee’s Bend quilters, or even some of the Pattern and Decoration artists like Joyce Kozloff, who also blurred the lines between “high” and “low” art. This piece feels like it’s part of that conversation, questioning what art can be and where it can be found. It's a reminder that artmaking is always a form of translation, with many possible meanings.