Shadow Weave - Chiral Fret Wave

Tauba Auerbach descriptively classifies this artwork through its title, Shadow Weave - Chiral Fret Wave, like scientific nomenclature. The work is a “shadow weave,” its warp and weft are made of alternating black and white strips. The design is “chiral,” a term used most often in molecular geometry to denote asymmetry. Finally, the composition includes “frets” or “waves,” decorative key patterns widely found among early cultures across all continents. The work occupies an in-between space: though stretched into a rectangular form, made of canvas, and hung on the wall like a painting, it contains neither brushstrokes nor paint. Additionally, it is neither representational nor abstract. Rather, like scientific research, Auerbach’s work coolly investigates systems of the physical world. This unusual subject matter for a painting is combined with traditions historically relegated to craft, particularly weaving and decoration.