The Forest

This is one of several works whose subject is recognizable but not pictorial or realistic in its presentation. Stein was often influenced by things she experienced during walks in the woods or on the beach. In this example, an abstract pattern has been created from the pine needles of a northern forest. There is also an optical trick here in that the parallel lines to which the needles are attached seem to visually converge and diverge. Like the rest of Stein’s double cloths in white and indigo, this work is double-sided, with the colors reversed.