n her second solo exhibition at the gallery, A Language for the Commons, Lena Wolff presents new work that links the iconography of American quilts with symbols for democracy, motifs from nature, and the universe at large. In keeping with her practice of the last two decades, Lena re-contextualizes lyrical and geometric quilt patterns in a wide range of unexpected mediums with attention to craftsmanship equal to that of a traditional quiltmaker, employing slow, labor-intensive processes to create pen drawings, intricate collages made with hand-cut paper, and wood wall sculptures assembled using the age-old techniques of marquetry and inlay. In this show, she continues to interpret the geometric eight-pointed star in new intuitive ways with more literal representations of the natural world. These patterns she experiments with, both known and obscure, have been adapted across communities in our country for centuries, representing collective imagination as much as individual ingenuity. Exploring the theme of the commons, this work upholds the shared and democratic vocabulary of the quilt while also expressing an underlying reverence for the life forms that connect us all.