Agnes Martin/Navajo Blankets

Featuring a selection of paintings created by Martin throughout her career, together with exceptional Navajo handwoven textiles from the 19th century, the exhibition will illuminate parallels between these exquisitely-crafted and transcendent bodies of work. Most of the woven works in the exhibition were created in the form of the ?chief-style? blankets by Navajo women working on indigenous vertical looms in their homes. Developed beginning in the 1750s, this bold-banded style worn around the shoulders by both men and women became a popular object of trade to high-level members of other tribes, military officers, and travelers throughout the American West, Southwest, and Northern Plains. By the mid-19th century, the Navajo chief blanket was one of the most valued garments in the world. The design spectrum of chief blankets includes four inter-figured phases, defined by their increasingly elaborate banding, coloration, and placement of foreground motifs. The chief blankets in this exhibition span the full range from first through fourth phases plus unusual variants. They and several classic serapes, dresses, and mantas (shawls) represent exceptionally rare examples of each type, rivaling museum and private collections worldwide.00Exhibition: Pace Gallery, Palo Alto, USA (28.09-28.10.2018) / Pace Gallery, New York, USA (14.11.-21.12.2018).