There are plenty of global weaving traditions that feature rectangles and overlapping lines, such as Mexican Serapes, Scottish Tartans and some of the simpler examples of Moki blankets from the Rio Grande area, to name just a few. However, the ability of Debbie Barrett-Jones in works like Aqua-Brown-Navy Inlay #5 with Aqua to conjure a narrative using colorful abstract forms places her work solidly in the American abstract painting tradition. Fruitful comparisons can be made to the work of artists such as Jonathan Lasker, Agnes Martin, Barnett Newman, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko and Sean Scully.
Aqua-Brown-Navy Inlay #5 with Aqua features a closely related palette of greens, blues and browns suggesting marine colors. Undulating forms like ocean waves alternate with sturdy horizontals that recall a beach or distant horizon. A misty, lighter-colored triangular zone in the lower third of the piece enhances this evocation of the sea. Barrett-Jones varied the colors in this area with re-used weft threads, pulled from another work, a large triptych called Aqua Interruptions in the collection of Truman Medical Centers.
The artist’s bold use of color strikes viewers right away in the diptych Gold, Shades of Purple and Silver. Rectangular zones of these hues counterbalance each other compositionally, as if the two panels are flipped mirror-images of each other. Subtle color variations further enrich the viewing experience as purple intermixes and modulates with blue. In addition to these pleasing color and composition permutations, beguiling diamond and zigzag patterns dance throughout both panels of this work.
Barrett-Jones’ work gains more impact when viewed in the context of the weaving process itself. Weaving by hand is labor-intensive. The overall design and color planning come first. Before any weaving can begin, white thread has to be transformed from the cones it comes on to the correct colors and lengths for the loom. The intervening stages involve a lot of winding, mixing dye colors, and dyeing the threads, all by hand. Once the weaving starts it goes quickly in comparison to all of the preliminary steps.
The artist’s state of mind while making such works inevitably comes across in the finished products, as she explained; “When I try to focus on the present moment, I find myself enjoying the quiet, calming and almost meditative state I am able to experience.” Over the past thirty years or so, a number of studies looking at the impact of art on healing have been conducted in hospital and clinical settings. Most of this research has found that patients prefer genres such as landscape scenes over abstract art. Barrett-Jones’ eminently attractive works seem poised to challenge such findings, and surely their calming impact is just as appropriate for homes, businesses and museums.
– James Martin