Category: Tapestry

Magdalena Abakanowicz Survey: Marlborough Gallery, New York through this Saturday, April 27th

April 24, 2013 0 Comment

Just a few days remain to see the impressive survey of works by Magadalena Abakanowicz at Marlborough Gallery in New York. Marlborough’s exhibition includes 55 works created over a 21-year period from 1987 to 2009. Pieces from several of the artist’s various “cycles,” including War Games, Hoofed Mammal Heads, Coexistence and the Anatomy Cycle as well as three of the artist’s “crowd” figures, including Bambini, a group of 10 children, from 1998-99.

MONTANA DEL FUEGO, Magdalena Abakanowicz, 1983, photo by Tom Grotta

MONTANA DEL FUEGO, Magdalena Abakanowicz, 1983, photo by Tom Grotta

Abakanowicz who is recognized as among the most original and powerful sculptors working today, initially gained international recognition for her remarkable, over-sized dimensional works of fiber. In Warsaw, in the late 50s and early 60s, Abakanowicz worked with what was available. “I could not pick up stone or marble and go to a foundry because there was no stone, no marble and no foundry to cast it,” she told Rita Reif of The New York Times in 2001, The Jackboot Has Lifted. Now the Crowds Crush. “This absence brought me to what they call the ‘world of fiber.’ It would never have happened if everyday life had been different. I needed to build something around me like a fence, to shut out the unpleasantness.” She called her early works, made of sisal ropes salvaged from the docks on the Vistula River in Warsaw “constructions” Abakanowicz has said that she had no desire to learn weave. Nonetheless, one of her first woven works, Composition of white forms, created a sensation at the first international Biennial of Tapestry in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1962, not only because of the monumental scale — large enough to walk into, but because the work was such a departure from pictorial tapestry conventions. Though now far better known as a sculptor, Abakanowicz continued to create tapestry forms, albeit unconventional ones, through at least the mid-80s.

LUNE DE MIEL 1 sisal 55" x 78" x 8", 1986

LUNE DE MIEL 1, Magdalena Abakanowicz, 1986, photo by Tom Grotta

Magdalena Abakanowicz: A Survey 1987-2009, Marlborough Gallery, 40 West 57th Street, New York, NY, 10019, 212-541-4900. To see a sampling of the exhibition, visit: http://marlboroughgallery.com/exhibitions/magdalena-abakanowicz-a-survey-1987-2009.

In Honor of Asia Week: Eight More Japanese Artists

March 23, 2013 0 Comment

Among the museum offerings in Asia Week New York 2013 is the Guggenheim’s No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia, through May 22nd.The first exhibition in the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative features work by 22 artists and collectives representing some of the most compelling and innovative voices in South and Southeast Asia today. No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia revokes national borders as limits to understanding, revealing in their place networks of influence and resistance. It will be followed by art from Latin America and the Middle East. At the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1071 5th Avenue (at 89th Street), New York, New York. And, as our last tribute to Asia Week, the work of eight more artists from Japan — basketmakers, weavers and a ceramist.

Revolving Gaps Between 03 by Noriko Takamiya, photo by Tom Grotta

Revolving Gaps Between 03 by Noriko Takamiya, photo by Tom Grotta

Norkiko Takamiya (Japan)

Four Squares by Chiyoko Tanaka, photo by Tom grotta

Four Squares by Chiyoko Tanaka, photo by Tom grotta

Chiyoko Tanaka (Japan)

Vanishing: Emerging 1, 3 & 4 by Hideho Tanaka, photo by Tom Grotta

Vanishing: Emerging 1, 3 & 4 by Hideho Tanaka, photo by Tom Grotta

Hideho Tanaka (Japan)

A Harden Nest by Takaaki Tanaka, photo by Tom Grotta

A Harden Nest by Takaaki Tanaka, photo by Tom Grotta

Takaaki Tanaka (Japan)

Imyo by Tsuruko Tanikawa, photo by Tom Grotta

Imyo by Tsuruko Tanikawa, photo by Tom Grotta

Tsuruko Tanikawa (Japan)

Kasuri Panels by Jun Tomita, photo by Tom Grotta

Kasuri Panels by Jun Tomita, photo by Tom Grotta

Jun Tomita (Japan)

Untitled by Jiro Yonezawa, photo by Tom Grotta

Untitled by Jiro Yonezawa, photo by Tom Grotta

Jiro Yonezawa (Japan)

Kuu 410 and 441 by Masako Yoshida, photo by Tom Grotta

Kuu 410 and 441 by Masako Yoshida, photo by Tom Grotta

Masako Yoshida (Japan)

In Honor of Asia Week: Seven More Japanese Artists

March 20, 2013 0 Comment

Traditionally, art of Asia Week New York has been Asian Contemporary Art Week. This spring, Asian Contemporary Art Week extends beyond its usual week-long format to last an entire season, capturing the best of contemporary art from Asia in New York. A complete list of contemporary offerings, which includes Bomb Ponds, Vandy Rattana’s installation of photographs and video that explores the U.S. bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War, is found on the ACAW webiste at http://www.acaw.info/?page_id=2062. Here is a selection of wall and three-dimensional work by seven more contemporary Japanese artists.

Large Silk Akiha Devider by Chiaki Maki, photo by Tom Grotta

Large Silk Akiha Devider by Chiaki Maki, photo by Tom Grotta

Chiaki Maki (Japan)

Large Tassar Spun Silk and Wool by Kaori Maki, photo by Tom Grotta

Large Tassar Spun Silk and Wool by Kaori Maki, photo by Tom Grotta

Kaori Maki (Japan)

Large Interlacing-R by Keiji Nio, photo by Tom grotta

Large Interlacing-R by Keiji Nio, photo by Tom grotta

Keiji Nio (Japan)

Shadow Alphabet by Toshio Sekiji, photo by Tom Grotta

Shadow Alphabet by Toshio Sekiji, photo by Tom Grotta

Toshio Sekiji (Japan)

A Hole to See II by Hisako Sekijima, photo by Tom Grotta

A Hole to See II by Hisako Sekijima, photo by Tom Grotta

Hisako Sekijima (Japan)

Generating 12 by Naoko Serino, photo by Tom grotta

Generating 12 by Naoko Serino, photo by Tom grotta

Naoko Serino (Japan)

Shindigo Square Series by Hiroyuki Shindo, photo by Tom Grotta

Shindigo Square Series by Hiroyuki Shindo, photo by Tom Grotta

Hiroyuki Shindo (Japan)

November 26th: Our Online Exhibition Opens With an Offer for CyberMonday

November 26, 2012 0 Comment

On Monday, November 26th, browngrotta arts will present an online version of our 25th anniversary exhibition,Retro/Prospective: 25+ Years of Art Textiles and Sculpture at browngrotta.com. The comprehensive exhibition highlights browngrotta arts’ 25 years promoting international contemporary art. Viewers can click on any image in the online exhibition to reach a page with more information about the artists and their work.

“Some works in Retro/Prospective: 25+ Years of Art Textiles and Sculpture reflect the early days of contemporary textile art and sculpture movement,” says Tom Grotta, founder and co-curator at browngrotta arts. “There are also current works by both established and emerging artists, which provide an indication of where the movement is now and where it may be headed.”

Since Monday the 26th is CyberMonday this year, sales of art, books, catalogs, videos or dvds placed online or by telephone that day will be discounted 10% (excluding tax and shipping). In addition, bga will make a donation to the International Child Art Foundation for each sale made from November 24th through December 31, 2012. Visit browngrotta.com. For more information call Tom at 203.834.0623 or email us at art@browngrotta.com.

Hot off the Press: Our Largest Catalog Yet

October 24, 2012 0 Comment

The catalog for Retro/Prospective: 25+ Years of Art Textiles and Sculpture is an ambitious venture for us. Currently weighing in at 182 pages, it features a timeline of art textile events from the 40s to the present, including the Lausanne Biennials (1962 to 1995), Fiber/Revolution in Milwaukee in 1986, Beyond Weaving in Greenwich, Connecticut in 2006, and key dates for fiber pioneers like Dorothy Liebes, Lenore Tawney, Magdalena Abakanowicz and Ed Rossbach. The catalog also includes two essays, one by designer Jo Ann Stabb, formerly on the design faculty at the University of California, Davis, on the emergence of contemporary textiles and fiber arts, the other by Lesley Millar, Professor of Textile Culture at the UK’s University of the Creative Arts, on recent developments in the field and what’s ahead. The catalog will be available in our online bookstore at  http://browngrotta.com/Pages/c37.php for $55.00, plus shipping and  sales tax where applicable.

 

Good Reads: Textiles, Tapestry and Ceramics

September 30, 2012 0 Comment

We’ve received three comprehensive and attractive books in the last few months, Textiles: The Whole Story, Uses, Meaning, Significance; Tapestry: A Woven Narrative; and Yasuhisa Kohyama: The Art of Ceramics, and we have enjoyed them all. (We know they are attractive and comprehensive, because they include artists whose work we represent and, in some cases, photographs by Tom.) 

Beverly Gordon, author of Textiles: The Whole Story, Uses, Meaning, Significance from Thames & Hudson, has an ambitious aim. “My intention” she writes, “is to shine new light on the light on the taken-for-granted but fascinating subject of the roles and meanings that textiles hold in cultures throughout the world. I hope to make it undeniably evident that to be human is to be involved with cloth.” To do that, she takes readers on a dizzying trip across centuries and continents and beyond, from the linen strips that cover a mummy in Egypt circa 150-175 CE. to the fluropolymers protecting an astronaut as he walks in space in this century, with stops at Betsy Ross in colonial America, Mohandas Gandhi in colonial India, women glass spinners in Murano, Italy in 1905 and the Renaissance, where women worked on textiles in groups, along the way. In sections covering textiles and human consciousness, human survival, social meaning, money, status and control, meaning and beauty and the spiritual significance of cloth, Gordon provides insights and information for anyone with an interest in textiles and all they entail.
Tapestry: A Woven Narrative also takes the long view, providing a general introduction to the state of artisan tapestry weaving in the 21st century by way of contextual essays outlining developments from the Middle Ages to the modern age. In addition to the essays,  the book also includes illustrated profiles of contemporary weavers, including Jo Barker, Sara Brennan and Sue Lawty — along with studio profiles of Dovecot and others. Tapestry: A Woven Narrative is available from browngrotta arts.

Also available from browngrotta arts is Yasuhisa Kohyama: The Art of Ceramics, which contains lush photos of dozens of Kohyama’s works as well as a foreword by Jack Lenor Larsen and essays by Susan Jefferies and others. What is important about Kohyama’s work, writes Jeffries, “is his embrace of contemporary life, and his bold and poetic use of line, mass  and form; he is fully aware of the sculptural possibilities available to him. A love of nature and a life-long interest in sculpture and architecture have also inspired his work.”