The American artist Karla Knight, born in 1958, says her paintings are inspired by “the mysteries and absurdities of life.” Each canvas is a self-contained and secretive universe that uses signs and shapes taken from Native American art, the occult, Surrealism, and spirituality. Ciphers, hieroglyphs, and obscure alphabets coexist in what look like strange blueprints. In Knight’s first solo exhibition in a museum, works spanning 40 years are on view as well as a new body of work the artist refers to as “tapestries.” Using reclaimed cotton from 1940s and 50s seed and grain bags, Knight makes a patchwork composition upon which she draws and paints. —E.C.