Detail of Maria Laskiewicz, MASK, woo1, sisal ,wood sculpture, 72″ x 53″, 1968, photo by tom Grotta

A group of six influential artists from Eastern Europe, Maria Łaszkiewicz, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Luba Krejci, Ritzi Jacobi, Zofia Butrymowicz and Jolanta Owidzka will be among the 32 artists featured in Influence and Evolution: Fiber Sculpture…then and now, at browngrotta arts in Wilton Connecticut. The oldest is Maria Łaszkiewicz of Poland, born in 1892 (died 1981). She encouraged a generation of textile artists, including

5ma Montana del Fuego, Magdalena Abakanowicz, sisal
54” x 81”, 1986, photo by Tom Grotta

Magdalena Abakanowicz (born 1930). In the catalog essay for Influence and Evolution, Ezra Shales, PhD notes that even thought she was born in the 19th century, “…Laszkiewicz was probably less weighted down by the material traditions of fiber than we would expect – and more modern for her time than she might seem to us today. She speaks global folk idioms and traditions with ease.” Magdalena Abakanowicz, who worked in Laszkiewicz’s studio, is the most well-known artist of this group, as much for her monumental figures in bronze as for the enormous weavings she created in 1960s. In creating her rebellious Abakans works, “I did not want to relate to either tapestry or sculpture,” Abakanowicz has written. “Ultimately it is the total obliteration of the utilitarian function of tapestry that fascinates me.” Luba Krejci (1925-2005) of Czechoslovakia also forged a new direction, creating figures of thread by adapting needle and bobbin lace-making techniques to create “intake,” a technique of her own making. The figures in her work are not what one would encounter in American work according to critic Janet Koplos. They are, Koplos wrote in the New Examiner in 1970, “not organic, not playful, not color studies, not romantic. They share with Eastern European fiber art a somber mood, a predominance of dark colors, a look back to classic themes and

7rj Breeze, Ritzi Jacobi
coconut fiber, sisal, cotton, 49” x 49” x 8”, 2000, photo by Tom Grotta

characters, and a great drama.” The youngest of this renown group, Ritzi Jacobi (born 1941), originally of Romania participated in 11 of the prestigious Lausanne Biennials and is represented in Influence and Evolution by a newer work, created in 2000. The exhibition will also include works from the 1960s by Polish artists Zofia Butrymowicz (1904 -1987) and Jolanta Owidzka (born 1927), a colleague of Abakanowicz in Warsaw. Influence and Evolution also features 15 artists, born after 1960, who approach materials, form and technique with a sense of exploration similar to that which characterized the 60s and 70s. The exhibition opens at 3pm on April 24th. The Artists Reception and Opening is on Saturday April 25th, 1pm to 6pm. The hours for Sunday April 27th through May 3rd are 10am to 5pm. To make an appointment earlier or later, call: 203-834-0623.

4jo. Jolanta Owidska MARGARET VIII, flax, sisal and wool, 57″ x 39″, 1977, photo by Tom Grotta

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Patina II by María Eugenia Dávila & Eduardo Portillo. Photo by Tom Grotta

We are in full preparation mode for our spring exhibition, Influence and Evolution: Fiber Sculpture then and now, April 24th – May 3rd. Among the artists whose work we will be featuring are María Eugenia Dávila & Eduardo Portillo of Venezuela. You can see the artists’ work in

Amanecer by María Eugenia Dávila & Eduardo Portillo. Photo by Tom Grotta

New Territories: Laboratories for Design, Craft and Art in Latin America at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City through April 6th. Featuring more than 75 designers, artists, craftspersons, and collectives, New Territories explores several key themes, including: the dialogue between contemporary trends and artistic legacies in Latin American art; the use of repurposed materials in strategies of upcycling; the blending of digital and traditional skills; and the reclamation of personal and public space. http://browngrotta.com/Pages/calendar.php

Venus I detail (woven bronze) by Eduardo Portillo & Mariá Eugenia Dávila, photo by tom Grotta

We are excited by the experimental approach Dávila and Portillo take to all aspects of their work — sourcing, technique and materials. They have spearheaded the techniques of rearing silk worms in Venezuela, weaving with locally sourced fibers and dyeing with natural dyes. They were inspired to work with natural indigo by visits to Orinoco and the Amazon.

Atardecer.Detail by Eduardo Portillo & Mariá Eugenia Dávila, photo by tom Grotta

The artists spent several years in China and India studying sericulture, or silk farming, and since then their research has taken them worldwide. In Venezuela they established the entire process of silk manufacture: growing mulberry trees on the slopes of the Andes, rearing silkworms, obtaining the threads, coloring them with natural dyes, and designing and weaving innovative textiles. We will include an example of woven “mosaics” from their Indigo series—metaphors for moments of the day —

Encontrada by Eduardo Portillo & Mariá Eugenia Dávila, photo by tom Grotta

in Influence and Evolution. Recently, they have been working on incorporating copper and bronze into their work, and also using textiles as inspiration for works that are cast in bronze and that work will be represented in Influence and Evolution as well. You can learn more about the artists, their process, inspiration and exquisite work by watching them on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/102751766. For more information on our exhibition, Influence and Evolution, or the catalog that will accompany it, check: http://browngrotta.com/Pages/catalogs.php

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