Tag: John McQueen

Art Assembled: September Highlights

October 1, 2025 0 Comment
John McQueen spanish moss basket
77jm Untitled #152, John McQueen, Spanish moss, black ash, 5.5″ x 16.5″ x 16″, 1978. Photo by Tom Grotta

September had five Mondays, so we provided a full complement of artworks for New This Week. First up was John McQueen‘s 1970s basket, Untitled #152, made of black ash and Spanish moss. In his lifetime, McQueen created more than 500 sculptural baskets from willow, bark, moss, cardboard, and recycled plastic — nearly all of materials that he gathered from his yard or his trash. His influence on other artists and participants in his workshops was immeasurable (See rembrances by Hisako Sekijima and Hideko Numata on arttextstyle.)

Semiotic by Rebecca Medel
12rme.1 Semiotic, Rebecca Medel, knotted & braided resist linen, plexiglas, 35.75″ x 7.25″ x 3.25″, 1992-1994. Photo by Tom Grotta

Our next New This Week artwork was Rebecca Medel’s Semiotic. Semiotics is the study of how meaning is created and communicated. Its origins lie in the academic study of how signs and symbols (visual and linguistic) create meaning. It’s a parallel for Medel’s work in which she explores ideas involving time and space metaphysics, and symbolism. During her graduate education, Medel developed a personal off-loom technique to knot large structural multi-planed square grid nets with ikat and braid resist threads. These resist processes separated color and created ambiguous or floating values of color. Medel singled out the use of linen and cotton thread because they are intrinsically structural and can be both bleached and dyed. The elemental characteristic of the work was an exploration of light through the grid structure, without mass and weight, on the edge of being physically supportable, and creating transparent weightlessness. Structure was achieved through the use of lines that became planes, at times parallel and layered, at other times connecting and intersecting perpendiculars; against the wall or coming out in relief.

Prayer Field by Lewis Knauss
29lk Prayer Field, Lewis Knauss woven, knotted, linen, hemp, raffia 23” x 23” x 5” each, 2011. Photo by Tom Grotta

After receiving his BFA in Art Education at Kutztown University, Lewis Knauss completed an MFA at Tyler School of Art. He taught for 30 years at Moore College of Art, in Pennsylvania. Knauss’s art is inspired by landcape — Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Colorado, New Mexico, Israel, and, Egypt. Another influence in works like Prayer Field, is meditation. “When my mother died,” he has said, “I decided to look into mindfulness-based stress reduction. My art is a form of mediation because you have given yourself a focus. I do a lot of knotting in my work. When a friend was diagnosed with cancer, I didn’t know what to say, so I made a long piece with knots and said each knot is a prayer.”

Red Pleated Mia Olsson
14mo Pleated, Red, Mia Olsson, sisal fibers, 30.625”” x 27.125” x 2.55”, 2025. Photo by Tom Grotta

Pleated by Mia Olsson is made of sisal fibers, dyed and formed in a technique unique to the artist. The sisal fibers used by the Swedish artist are shiny and reflect the light, even more when formed in relief. The colors are richly saturated — engaging the viewer on each viewing. Olsson manipulates the prickly sisal into airy, semi-transparent wall sculptures, dyed in richly saturated warm tones. “I am interested in exploring textile fibers, how they are, their properties and characteristics, and what I can do with them,” says Olsson. Olsson describes sisal as “so interesting to work with, especially when forming three-dimensional pieces. My work is experimental and I never know on which journeys the fibers will take me.”

Landscape Transformed by Adela Akers
Adela Akers, 50aa Landscape Transformed, linen, horsehair, paint & metal foil, 73″ x 32″ x 2″, 2011. Photo by Tom Grotta

Adela Akers was born in Spain, educated at the University of Havana in Cuba and inspired by her extensive travels, Akers grounded her practice in a diverse and geographically disparate range of influences. Landscape Interrupted, our last New This Week entry for September,reflects her visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where she observed the painting process of the Mbuti women of the Ituri Forest. Akers’ work was also informed by the abstract expressionism movement in the 1950’s. A work by Adela Akers that resulted from Akers’s study of the marks made by Mbuti women will be features in Beauty is Resistance: art as antidote at browngrotta arts this month (October 11 – 19).

In Memory: John McQueen

September 17, 2025 2 Comments

This week we share another testament to the profound influence that John McQueen has had within the art world. The recollection below is from Hideko Numata, the curator of the influential exhibitions Weaving the World: the Art of Linear Construction at the Yokohama Museum of Art in Japan in 1999.

Last month, I received the deeply saddening news from Hisako Sekijima that John McQueen had passed away. I was filled with a profound sense of sorrow and regret. Meeting John McQueen remains one of the most meaningful and unforgettable experiences of my career as a curator.

John McQueen's sketches
Twig sketches behind John McQueen’s Saratoga New York’s workbench. Photo by Tom Grotta

I first encountered John McQueen around 1997, while I was planning the 10th-anniversary exhibition at the Yokohama Museum of Art. I was responsible for the crafts section. At that time, I had the uncomfortable sense that there was a noticeable divide between fine art and crafts in the Japanese art world. Even in our museum, which focused on modern and contemporary art, the crafts section was often undervalued, and I frequently found myself frustrated by these limitations. I began to wonder whether it might be possible to curate an exhibition that transcended traditional art categories and explored the origins of artistic formation.

Hisako Sekijima’s book, The Formula of Basketry
Hisako Sekijima’s book, The Formula of Basketry

It was during this period that I came across Hisako Sekijima’s book, The Formula of Basketry. Although Japan has a longstanding tradition of bamboo craft, her book transformed my understanding of basketry—not simply as the weaving of plant materials into containers, but as a medium of dynamic expression with limitless potential. Basketry, I realized, could incorporate not only natural elements but also paper, wire, and other materials, to create both flat and sculptural forms from linear elements.

John Mcqueen Workshop Gakugei
John McQueen Workshop in Japan, courtesy of the Yokohama Museum of Art

Hisako Sekijima began making baskets in Japan, but her time in the United States from 1975 to 1979 exposed her to basketry as an art form. She was captivated by the spirit of freedom and experimentation she found there. Participating in John McQueen’s workshop during that period was a turning point for her. Her vivid recollections in the book sparked my own interest in both McQueen’s work and the artist himself.

When I first encountered his art, I was immediately struck by its originality. McQueen used a wide range of materials and weaving techniques to create abstract forms, alphabetic characters, and large-scale figures of people and animals. His works were not functional baskets but powerful sculptures—three-dimensional expressions of contemporary art. The materials and weaving methods themselves appeared to alter the forms and movements they expressed. They overturned my preconceived notions of sculpture.

The act of weaving — strands forming two- or three-dimensional shapes — is one of the most fundamental, universal methods of making. Practiced globally since ancient times, it holds an infinite capacity for expression. I felt it could offer a way to bridge the gap between fine art and craft. This realization led me to curate the exhibition Weaving the World, Contemporary Art of Linear Construction, which brought together works from both craft fields such as basketry and textiles, and contemporary art that used linear or woven elements.

Weaving the World, Contemporary Art of Linear Construction
Installation shot of Weaving the World, Contemporary Art of Linear Construction, courtesy of the Yokohama Museum of Art

For this exhibition, John McQueen contributed one bird’s nest-like piece and two human-shaped sculptures. The bird’s nest-like structure was constructed from short wooden branches inserted and layered to form a structure that, while sturdy, appeared almost fragile—like it might collapse at any moment. The human figures were created using branches and vines secured with plastic cable ties. One figure was made by weaving taut, slender vines into an airy yet resilient human shape. It maintained a strong presence, offering glimpses through its woven mesh to the inner space and the world beyond. The other was composed by densely interweaving branches to fill the interior form. Although it was structurally solid, it lacked the gravitas of stone or bronze, instead possessing a lighthearted, even humorous character. McQueen’s work effortlessly transcended the boundaries between sculpture and craft.

Weaving the World, Contemporary Art of Linear Construction
Installation shot of Weaving the World, Contemporary Art of Linear Construction, courtesy of the Yokohama Museum of Art

The exhibition featured artists from Europe, the United States, and Japan, spanning both the craft and contemporary art worlds. These included browngrotta arts gallery artists such as Norma Minkowitz, Markku Kosonen, Toshio Sekiji, and Hisako Sekijima; sculptors like Richard Deacon and Martin Puryear; installation artists working with natural materials, including Andy Goldsworthy and Ludwika Ogorzelec; Supports/Surfaces artists like François Rouan; and conceptual artists such as Rosemarie Trockel and Margo Mensing. Though diverse in practice, they were united in their exploration of “line” as a medium – unfolding into inner landscapes, social commentary, and artistic forms Viewers could deeply appreciate the richness of art created by weaving linear materials as they moved through the exhibition space.

workshop participants Weaving Yokohama
Workshop participants Weaving Yokohama, Crossing Paths, courtesy of the Yokohama Museum of Art

During the exhibition, we held a three-day public workshop titled “Weaving Yokohama, Crossing Paths” led by John McQueen and Margo Mensing. Takahiro Kinoshita, an educator of the Yokohama Museum of Art’s education group, organized this workshop. He spent an entire year coordinating the event with the two artists. Fifty participants and twenty-three volunteers took part. On the first day, there was an introduction to the workshop, consecutive lectures from McQueen, Mensing, and Sekijima. The following two days were dedicated to creation, taking place in the museum’s open-air portico, where the public could observe the process.

Weaving Yokohama, Crossing Paths
Weaving Yokohama Crossing Paths workshop, courtesy of the Yokohama Museum of Art

The workshop used bottom trawl nets previously employed by Yokohama’s fishermen. Working in pairs, participants traced human shapes onto the nets, cut them out, and wove various materials into the forms. On the first day, they completed the human-shaped silhouettes. The second day focused on filling the interior spaces by weaving in different materials. Though more challenging than expected, the collaborative process allowed each pair to create a unique piece through trial, connection, and creativity. Even beginners were able to experience the satisfaction of shaping and completing something with their own hands. Each work reflected its creators—different in material, method, and spirit—shining with individuality.

The exhibition and workshop were warmly received by the public, and the exhibition was honored with that year’s Ringa Award for the outstanding exhibition that year. I believe that by focusing on the elemental act of weaving, visitors were able to rediscover the joy of form-making and expression—beyond the confines of any genre.

I remain deeply grateful to John McQueen. He reminded me that even the most humble materials and methods can give rise to profound beauty and meaning. His inspiration continues to live on, not only in his works but in all of us who had the honor of working with him.

May he rest in peace.
Hideko Numata
Professor, Showa University of Music
Former Chief Curator of the Yokohama Museum of Art Curator,
Weaving the World: Contemporary Art of Linear Construction, 
Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan 1999

Hisako Sekijima on John McQueen’s Impact in Flexible Forms and Words 

September 3, 2025 1 Comment
Hisako Sekijima with John Mcqueen in 2011
Hisako Sekijima discussed her work with John Mcqueen in 2011 at browngrotta arts. Photo by Tom Grotta

The passing of John McQueen in midsummer 2025 made me look back over the strong impact he has had on me and other artists, an impact that has never weakened. In my early days, I learned a lot from both his art work and articulate statements in teaching. Writing this remembrance has replaced my grief with my refreshed excitement of those days. In it I also want to convey deep regret about his passing from other Japanese basketmakers who studied in his courses. 

As a tribute, I have included an illustration of his workshop at Peter’s Valley Craft Center in 1978, from my book Formula for Basketry. It was republished last year, 36 years after its original in which I discussed my 10-year artistic exploration, starting with problems thrown at basketmakers by McQueen.

John Mcqueen illustration

Twelve participants of his course, including myself, triumphantly carried a group project, a big basket like a geodesic dome, on the top of a car to the auction site of the Craft Center. Requiring us to put it upside down, I now realize, symbolized very well his intent to throw us all outside of the conventions of basketmaking. At that time I lived in suburban New York City and was anxious to take his course. His Untitled Basket overwhelmed me with beautiful forms made of low processed plant materials with totally original structural mechanisms. I had visited exhibitions to see his work at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts and galleries including Hadler/Rodriguez, Florence Duhl, and Helen Drutt.

John Mcqueen Hadler Gallery Catalog

I never became a participant of one of his workshops again after Peter’s Valley, because while there, John McQueen gave me a basketful of homework that put me on a lifetime path of extremely experimental exploration. After returning to Japan in 1979, I enthusiastically set up his workshops as a planner, adviser, and assistant or interpret/moderator, in order to introduce a Japanese audience and my students to the fascinating gateway to the basket world that John McQueen was discovering.  

John Mcqueen harvesting willow
John Mcqueen harvesting willow. Photo by Tom Grotta

In 1978, John McQueen’s work was exhibited for the first time in Japan in a survey show of contemporary textile arts from Europe, America, and Japan (Part I: Fiber Works – Europe, Japan; Part II: Fiber Works – Americas, Japan). It was curated by Shigeki Fukunaga as a two-part series in 1977 and 1978 for the Museums of Modern Art in Kyoto and Tokyo. The next time McQueen’s work was exhibited in Japan was in 1989 in an exhibition of American contemporary crafts entitled The Eloquent Object which started at Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa Oklahoma and travelled to the Museums of Modern Art in New York, Kyoto, and Tokyo. In those years in Japan, contemporary basketmaking had just started attracting a few weavers’ attention. In narrower circles,  those who knew more about contemporary baskets as new art forms through slides or publications I brought back from America and through John McQueen’s early innovative work were intoxicated by the vast possibility of asserting modes of sculptural basketmaking. 

John McQueen installs Frieze
John McQueen installs Frieze made of willow. Photo by Tom Grotta

In the winter of 1997, I planned, with Kazue Homma, basketmaker and publisher of a mini-circulation for basketmakers, to invite John McQueen to Japan. We set up a series of events within his one-month stay: in Tokyo two-day workshop with a slide lecture, a slide lecture at Gallery Isogaya, and a joint lecture for three art schools. In Kyoto, he would conduct a 5-day workshop at Kawashima Textile School.

For Kyoto, I scheduled his course in place of a basketry course in the school’s “Hands Week” program that was scheduled annually. I had been teaching a one-week basketry course for 15 years before then. I intentionally planned his teaching to be not too conceptual but quite technical, in consideration of the preference of Japanese participants. Even so, McQueen’s method was so extraordinary and innovative that all were intrigued or taken out of their conventional thinking. For example, he taught how to transfer a vessel form step-by-step into a two-dimensional template, which was necessary for his signature method of “weaving a basket on the loom.” Just the idea shocked all in Japan, where good baskets ought to be made of stiff bamboo or akebia without any mold or shaping gears!! 

John McQueen teaching aside Hisako Sekijima in Japan
John McQueen teaching aside Hisako Sekijima in Japan. Photo courtesy of Hisako Sekijima

In Tokyo, McQueen’s course was filled instantly with 20 participants, mostly fellow artists and ex-students of mine. We financed his air fare by the admission costs paid a month ahead to reserve entry. When he showed how to join patches of tree bark, everyone was very pleased, as well as surprised, that he generously shared this technical secret. But, as Kazue Homma, wrote in her report of his workshop in Basketry News, “Being taught has two sides. A taught way would better be avoided, though the teacher said taking someone’s way is not always bad.”  She noted that he added “one’s own original [way] is much more difficult and so valuable.” One year after the workshops, participants of both venues had a group show John McQueen was there at Sembikiya Gallery in Tokyo to show each breakthrough.

John McQueen teaching in Japan
John McQueen teaching in Japan. Photo courtesy of Hisako Sekijima

In 1999, the Yokohama Art Museum presented Weaving the World: Contemporary Arts of Linear lConstruction. The curator, Hideko Numata, invited John McQueen and Margo Mensing for a joint workshop. (Hideko Numata’s recollection will appear in an upcoming arttextstyle.)  During that trip, I joined McQueen and Mensing for a three-day joint workshop at Sapporo Art Park in Hokkaido.  It was organized by the Art Park in collaboration with the Hokkaido branch of Kawashima Textile School’s alumni. Participants, mostly experienced weavers, had a choice of three projects: McQueen’s “stick project,” Mensing’s three-dimensional knitting, and my material transformation. Stick project, being well received in other workshops, was what can be called a portraying of a soft object in short, straight, linear materials: composing a free-standing new object with use of short sticks and other items in combination. What he explained to participants was that they should be conscious of portraying a certain aspect of the object, which he said was to be the subject of a new object. It was a very new experience to Japanese weavers. For them, making an object with a concrete subject was not familiar, because until then, more emotional or impressionistic expression had been preferred. This project, I think, reflected very well the new direction of his work which seemed getting more figurative and narrative year after year.        

Weaving the World catalog
Weaving the World catalog layout. Works by John McQueen. Photo by Tom Grotta

McQueen was a great educator in that he showed us “unlearning is a true learning.” I would like to say thank you and good bye to him with a following story. In the workshop at Kawashima Textile School I saw him teaching plaiting by aligning components on the edge at the beginning, but not on the bottom. He reversed the common procedure most basketry books take as basic. Everyone got “his new basic.” The reversed process made them give up the convention. I realized that John’s teaching skill had advanced since the time I studied with him at Peter’s Valley, in that he came to teach it from much more elemental point. He taught us in 1978 to start from the bottom, a conventional way. In due course, I got fixed in its convention. It took years to liberate myself from the basket “trap” until eventually I came to “discover” an approach based on reversed engineering on my own!!  Looking at this, I got another priceless lesson from McQueen: “Do not take for granted someone else’s basics.”

This is how I shall remember him always.  

Hisako Sekijima

Yokohama, Japan

Lives Well-Lived: John McQueen

August 1, 2025 3 Comments
John McQueen Harvesting Willow
John McQueen harvesting willow. Photo by Tom Grotta

We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of John McQueen last week. He was a remarkable artist. We had long admired his work from afar and over the years had placed several works that he showed at other galleries. We got to know him personally when he began to exhibit with browngrotta arts more than 15 years ago. He visited us in Wilton on several occasions and we traveled to upstate New York to see him and photograph him at work.

Happenstance, John McQueen
Detail: 82jm Happenstance, John McQueen, willow, waxes string,22.5″ x 8.5″ x 8.75″, 2011. Photo by Tom Grotta

McQueen created three-dimensional items of twigs, branches, bark, and sometimes plastic and cardboard, all of material he harvested and collected. These objects included books, fish, birds, lions, and human figures, and vessels and structures, some basket like, others not.  McQueen insisted that he was not a sculptor, but a basketmaker. Containment was a consistent interest. “Baskets connect with the definition of a container — a very broad concept. This room is a container. I am a container. The earth is being contained by its atmosphere. This is so open. I don’t need to worry about reaching the end of it.” (Quoted on the relationship in the catalog for his solo exhibition at the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Language of Containment, in 1992).

Untitled #88, John McQueen
64jm Untitled #88, John McQueen, elm bark and maple, 14” x 14” x 10.5”, 1979. Photo by Tom Grotta

McQueen pushed the boundaries of his art form of choice throughout his working life. He created forms of pieced bark, using forms made of cardboard, “paintings” of plastic contained within frames of twigs and branches, and integrated sly and subtle messages throughout his works. Words entered his works in 1979 in Untitled #88, in which a web of words creates the container in part and conveys an idea — “Always is always a ways away.” His subsequent works abounded with puns, rebuses, and messages to be deciphered.

Falling Fruit, John McQueen
20jm Falling Fruit, John McQueen, sticks and string on a wood grid, 40” x 48” x 12”, 2014. Photo by Tom Grotta

Man’s fruitless efforts to control nature were a frequent subject of McQueen’s art. As Vicki Halper observed in The Language of Containment, for McQueen “[t]he basket becomes an agent for investigating the fragile truce between humans and nature.” In Falling Fruit, for example, tiny stick figures are mounted beside sharks and palm trees made of twigs.  We may think we can control our world, but McQueen’s camouflage-like scene suggests otherwise. As Nature does, McQueen offers surprising combinations that remind us that life is not predictable. 

1000 Leaves, John McQueen
49jm 1000 Leaves, John McQueen, willow, waxed linen, 27″ x 48″ x 48″, 2022. Photo by Tom Grotta

In 2022, McQueen decided to take on a project that would take him a year. This was an approach regularly taken by his life partner, artist Margo Mensing, who would choose a subject — generally a person — and spend a year creating artworks, poetry, performances, and multi-media installations in response. For McQueen, the result of his year’s work was 1000 Leaves, an assemblage of individually crafted structures that paid homage to trees, the source of the material that gave life to his work.

A Tree and Its Skin Again, John McQueen
78jm A Tree and Its Skin Again, John McQueen, mixed media, 30″ x 20.25″ x 8.25″, 2006. Photo by Tom Grotta

McQueen was born in Oakland, Illinois in 1943. He received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida (where Jim Morrison was his roommate). After college he went to New Mexico where his interest in basketmaking began. Courses in weaving were a logical entry point to basketry so he enrolled in the Master’s program at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, where he studied with Adela Akers among others. He received many awards in his career including an artist fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts, a Visual Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, a United States/Japan Friendship Commission Fellowship, a Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award, the Master of the Medium Award from the James Renwick Alliance, and the Gold Medal from the American Craft Council. His work is found in numerous permanent collections, including that of the Museum of Arts and Design, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Kunstindustrimuseum, Trondheim, Norway, Detroit Institute of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

Not Believable, John McQueen
59jm Not Believable, John McQueen, woven willow, plastic, 20.25″ x 41″ x 5″, 2005. Photo by Tom Grotta

McQueen’s art stirs powerful feelings in viewers, forcing them to think about construction and words, metaphysically and literally.  “McQueen’s genius lies in finding a simple declarative means of speaking about paradox, essences, and fundamental truth,” Elizabeth Broun, then-director of the National Museum of American Art observed. His genius will be greatly missed.

Gone Fishing!

July 23, 2025 0 Comment
John McQueen willow billfish
John McQueen, Just Under the Record, willow sticks and waxed string, 30″ x 72″ x 12″, 1998. Photo by Tom Grotta

We are off to spend some of August in Maine. 

Judy Mulford Fish gord
Judy Mulford, A Day at the Beach, mixed media, 6″ x 9.5″ x 9.5″, 1997. Photo by Tom Grotta

We are using this week’s arttextstyle to share some images of art that reflects some of our favorite things about the place.

Ed Rossbachs Fish Trap basket
Ed Rossbach, Fish Trap, 14″ x 11″ x 11″, 1988. Photo by Tom Grotta

Fish would be one. Watching, catching, and eating them.

Chris Drury Kayaks
Chris Drury, Kayak Bundles, willow bark and cloth sea charts from Greenland and Outer Hebrides, 79″ x 55″ x 12″, 1994. Photo by Tom Grotta

Water travel is another. We love to watch boats and kayak.

Carol Shaw-Sutton willow Canoe
Carol Shaw-Sutton, Spirit Canoe, willow construction with waxed linen, 56″ x 60″ x 28″, 1999. Photo by Tom Grotta

We love to watch boats and kayak.

Bamboo boat by Dona Anderson
Dona Anderson, Crossing Over, bamboo kendo (martial art sticks), patterened paper, thread, 15″ x 94″ x 30″, 2008. Photo by tom grotta

We’ll be back next week with Art Assembled.

Annette Bellamy floating boats
Annette Bellamy Floating Installation, Fuller Craft Museum Installation. Photo by Tom Grotta

Happy Summer!!

Art Assembled – New This Week in November

November 27, 2024 0 Comment

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, we want to take a moment to express our gratitude for the continued support from all of you. November has been a wonderful month at browngrotta arts, and we are thrilled to share the exciting developments we’ve been working on. Our highly anticipated winter exhibition Japandi Revisited: Shared Aesthetics and Influences opens on December 7, 2024, at the Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania. This exhibition revisits a theme we explored three years ago—how Japanese and Scandinavian artists, from Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark, draw inspiration from shared cultural and aesthetic influences. We uncovered so many fascinating stories and references that we are excited to revisit this dialogue again this winter. We hope to see you there!

In the meantime, November has been a month full of incredible features. Our New This Week series introduced the work of four incredibly talented artists: Paul Furneaux, Sue Lawty, Polly Sutton, and John McQueen. Here’s a look back at these remarkable individuals and their contributions to the world of art.

Paul Furneaux
8pf Soft Sea Lewis II, Paul Furneaux, Mokuhan Ga, Japanese woodcut print, sealed birch, UV. Photo by Tom Grotta.

Kicking off the month, we featured the talented Scottish artist, Paul Furneaux. For over a decade, Furneaux has been exploring traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques, particularly mokuhanga. His journey with this medium began when he received a scholarship to Tama Art University in Tokyo, where he was first introduced to the intricate art of watercolor woodblock printing. Furneaux’s work took a significant turn during a residency in Norway, which inspired a conceptual shift — moving from traditional, flat printed works to creating prints as “skins” that clothe three-dimensional sculptures. This innovative approach bridges the gap between two-dimensional and three-dimensional art, transforming the print into a more dynamic, sculptural form.

He combines his technical skill in mokuhanga with elements of texture, abstraction, and narrative, resulting in pieces that are not only visually striking but also rich in meaning. His work continues to evolve, drawing from both cultural traditions and modern interpretations, creating a unique fusion of art and craftsmanship.

Sue Lawty
Sue Lawty, 35sl Coast, East Riding of Yorkshire 1-3, sea eroded stone on gesso, 12.5” x 10.5” x 1.5” each, 2024. Photo by Tom Grotta.

Next, we turned our spotlight to Sue Lawty, a highly experienced artist, designer, and educator whose work has been celebrated worldwide. Known for her deep emotional and physical connection to the land, Lawty’s practice explores the subtleties of material and construction to create unique textual languages through meticulous weaving. Her works often reflect a profound connection to nature, with her thoughtful use of wool and other fibers highlighting her commitment to the tactile, slow process of creation.

Throughout her career, Lawty has built a distinguished body of work exhibited internationally, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where she held a year-long residency. Her art also resides in prestigious collections, including those of the Smithsonian Museums and the University of Leeds. Lawty’s work has appeared in numerous exhibitions in the UK and beyond, including the International Triennial of Tapestry in Lodz, Poland, and the Victorian Tapestry Workshop in Melbourne, Australia. Her use of natural materials and her emotionally charged process have made her an influential figure in contemporary textile art.

Polly Sutton
17ps Ebb Tide, Polly Sutton, cedar bark, binder cane, magnet wire, 14″ x 16.9″ x 12″, 2023. Photo courtesy of Polly Barton.

Mid-month, we highlighted the work of Polly Sutton, a talented artist known for her exceptional use of natural materials sourced from the Pacific Northwest. Sutton’s basketry work is often created from fibers of native Washington species, including cedar bark gathered from freshly logged forests and sweet grass collected from the tide flats of the Pacific Ocean. These materials are not just functional, but also deeply rooted in the natural world, often reflecting her personal connection to the land.

Polly Sutton is especially known for her sculptural, free-form baskets, which are created using the inner bark of Western Red Cedar trees. There are no preconceived notions about the final form; instead, Sutton’s process is one of discovery. “The work begins when I have located a logging source where, with permission, I can harvest inner bark,” she says. “The outer bark is split off in the woods, and I bring home several coils of fresh cedar bark.” Her work emphasizes pleasing, curvilinear forms, which are often asymmetrical and free-flowing, echoing the natural world that inspires her.

John McQueen
83jm Grapple, John McQueen, strip willow, white pine figures, 19.5″ x 22″ x 16″, 2023. Photo by Tom Grotta

Finally, we spotlighted John McQueen, a renowned sculptor and artist whose work often explores the relationships between natural materials and their structural possibilities. McQueen’s piece Grapple, created in 2023, features a combination of strip willow and white pine figures. His intricate arrangements challenge the boundaries of sculpture, creating forms that feel both organic and deliberate. His approach to weaving natural materials into sculptural pieces has made McQueen a beloved figure in contemporary art, inspiring countless viewers to reconsider the role of natural elements in art.

As we wrap up November, we are incredibly grateful for your continued interest and support. Stay tuned for more exciting updates as we gear up for Japandi Revisited in December. We can’t wait to share these unique works with you and look forward to seeing you at the exhibition soon!

Art Assembled – New This Week in September

October 3, 2024 0 Comment

September has been a remarkable month at browngrotta arts, highlighted by the success of our exhibition, Ways of Seeing. We are immensely grateful to everyone who came out to join us for our Fall Art in the Barn exhibition. Your support means the world to us, and we are grateful for every opportunity we get to connect with each of you.

As we reflect on this past month, we’re excited to recap the talented artists featured in our New This Week series throughout September. Read on to see what talented artists we’ve put a spotlight on!

Mary Merkel-Hess
212mm Another Autumn, Mary Merkel Hess, paper cord, paper, 28″ x 18″ x 12″, 2023.

Kicking off the month, we had the pleasure of highlighting the work of Mary Merkel-Hess. Known for her intricate sculptures that evoke the natural world, Merkel-Hess draws inspiration from the beauty found in her surroundings. Using reed, paper, and paper cord, she creates what she refers to as “landscape reports,” sculptural forms that reflect her deep connection to nature.

Merkel-Hess’s work often incorporates broken borders and insets, allowing the viewer to engage with the layers and textures she so thoughtfully constructs.

Merkel-Hess was also one of the 20 women artists who were featured in, Impact: 20 Women Artists to Collect, in September. It’s no wonder to us why her work comes so acclaimed!

John McQueen
81jm The Weight of Empty, John McQueen, willow, 50″ x 26″ x 26″, 2020

We then turned our spotlight to the remarkable John McQueen and his intricate work. A sculptor, McQueen arranges natural materials to create vessels, sculptural figures, and representational images that challenge our perception of the natural order.

His bark-covered sculptures and drawings made from sticks lead viewers to reconsider their relationship to nature. McQueen’s work has been acquired by numerous prestigious museums, including the Museum of Arts and Design and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and he is recognized with several accolades, such as the Gold Medal of the American Craft Council for his impactful contributions to the field of sculpture.

Nancy Koenigsberg
58nak Pocket Scroll, Nancy Koenigsberg, twisted copper, 73.5″ x 17.5″ x 6″, 2007

Following McQueen, we featured the captivating work of Nancy Koenigsberg. As a celebrated artist and educator, Koenigsberg’s pieces are a testament to her exploration of materiality and technique. Utilizing her expertise in weaving and embroidery, she creates intricate textile artworks that often reflect personal narratives.

Koenigsberg’s practice challenges the boundaries of traditional textile art, as she incorporates various techniques and materials to create layered, textural compositions that resonate with emotion and meaning.

She is one of our favorite artists to date, and we hope you all enjoy her work as much as we do!

Anneke Klein
7akl Black Monologue, Anneke Klein, hemp, cotton, linen, acrylic paint, 28.5″ x 28.5″ x .5″, 2020.

We then turned our attention to Anneke Klein, a talented artist from the Netherlands originally educated as a goldsmith. Her passion for weaving emerged from a desire to move away from hard, cold materials toward the warmth and softness of textiles. After designing and manufacturing clothing, she created commissioned works for renowned artists such as Richard Tuttle and Alexis Gautier, showcasing her ability to blend her goldsmithing precision with textile art.

Klein has developed her own style for wall objects, often employing the rhythmic and repetitive expressions learned during her time as a goldsmith. Her work reflects a unique exploration of materials, inviting viewers to engage with both tactile and visual elements.

Jin-Sook So
71jss Soul of Bowl II, Jin-Sook So, steel mesh, electroplated silver, pure gold leaf, acrylic, steel thread
6” x 12.75” x 9.75”, 2023.

Finally, we highlighted the work of Jin-Sook So, an artist renowned for her innovative approach to fiber art. So’s creations are characterized by their intricate layering and attention to detail, reflecting her deep understanding of traditional techniques while embracing contemporary aesthetics. Her work often incorporates elements of nature and cultural heritage, inviting viewers to consider the connections between art and identity. Jin-Sook So’s dedication to her craft and her ability to weave together diverse influences make her work truly exceptional.

As we step into October, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all who engaged with our September New This Week features and our Ways of Seeing exhibition. Your support means the world to us! Stay tuned for more artistic explorations and updates as we continue this creative journey together.

Woven Histories Highlights – National Gallery, Washington, DC

July 10, 2024 0 Comment
Woven Histories Entrance
Entrance to Woven Histories, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Photo by Tom Grotta.

During our recent trip to Washington, DC we visited Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction, through July 28, 2024 at the National Gallery. We are not going to pout about the fact that it has taken a few decades for contemporary fiber art to make it into the hallowed halls of the National Gallery. We are just going to revel in this expansive textile coming out party — an exhibition that challenges, however belatedly, the hierarchies that often separate textiles from fine arts.

Woven Histories Installation
Installation view: Work by Ruth Asawa, Kay Sekimachi and Martin Puryear. Photo by Tom Grotta.

The 150 objects in Woven Histories highlight a diverse range of transnational and intergenerational artists who have shaped the field including: Ruth Asawa, Anni Albers, Lenore Tawney, Kay Sekimachi, Sheila Hicks, Rosemarie Trockel, and Diedrick Brackens. There are also painters and sculptors like Agnes Martin and Eva Hesse whose work also played a role in modern abstraction. 

Ed Rossbach
Ed Rossbach, Constructed Color Wall Hanging, 1965. Photo by Tom Grotta.

Curated by Lynne Cooke, the exhibition offers “a fresh and authoritative look at textiles — particularly weaving — as a major force in the evolution of abstraction.” Basketry is given prominence. Cook notes in the book that accompanies the exhibition, Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction, that basketry was a moribund artform in the mid-60s, when Ed Rossbach began his “[s]triving for expressive content, signification and meaning” within basketry’s time-tested techniques. The exhibition highlights others creating basket referents, including John McQueen, Dorothy, Gill Barnes, Martin Puryear, and Yvonne Koolmatrie.

Shan Goshorn
Shan Goshorn Baskets. Photo by Tom Grotta.

There are more than 50 artists whose work is included. The timeline is expansive — beginning with work created during World War I by Sophie Taeuber-Arp of the Zurich Dada circle, and continuing through to 21st century efforts to create community and celebrate the politics of identity by such artists as Ann Hamilton, Liz Collins, and Jeffrey Gibson. The exhibition will travel next to the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, from November 8, 2024–March 2, 2025 and then the Museum of Modern Art, New York, April 20–September 13, 2025. 

Agnes Martin
Agnes Martin, Untitled, oil on canvas, 1960. Photo by Tom Grotta.

Discourse — the book, out now

June 19, 2024 0 Comment
Discourse: across generations catalog

Our 59th catalog, Discourse: art across generations and continents, is now available from the browngrotta.com website. As you may know, we produce our catalogs in house. If you’ve purchased a copy, you should have gotten a Handle With Care insert that reads: ”Each browngrotta arts catalog is individually printed and hand bound. Once you have a copy in hand, please treat it gently. If you crack the spine to see if the pages will flutter out, they just might. So, please don’t. Thanks.” Our catalogs “have never been anything but labors of love,” Glenn Adamson observed on the occasion of our 50th catalog, “quite literally products of a family concern, a cottage industry.” (“Beyond Measure,” Glenn Adamson, Volume 50: Chronicling FIber Art for Three Decades, browngrotta arts, Wilton, CT, 2020.)

New Press

This Spring we had a brief delay in producing while we acquired a new printing press — smaller, faster, and with more bells and whistles. Our previous press, which we bought second-hand, had given up the ghost in May. But it did not give up until browngrotta arts had published more than a million pages, mostly on fiber art and artists. Our new printer has expanded features: it can handle heavier and larger sheets and spot varnish.

Mika Watanabe spread
Mika Watanabe spread

In Discourse: art across generations and continents, you’ll find work by 61 artists from 20 countries. There are 176 pages and hundreds of color photographs, including details. There are also short compilations of collections, exhibitions, and awards for each artist included.

Federica Luzzi spread
Federica Luzzi spread

Also included in the Discourse catalog is an insightful essay by Erika Diamond, an artist and curator and the Associate Director of CVA Galleries at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. In “Consonance of Strings,” Diamond identifies several themes that influence the artists in Discourse. These include textiles like Federica Luzzi’s and Mika Watanabe’s that mirror the human body, works like Stéphanie Jacques’ exploration of the void, that express a yearning for connection, and those  finding order in chaos and harmony in disorder like the subversively “crushed” baskets by Polly Barton. Diamond makes broader observations about textiles’ ability to provide interconnections and common ground for viewers. She compares textiles to quantum physics’ theory of vibrating strings of energy making up the world. Textiles, she sees as “… lines in space — stitches, braids, weavings — moving and bending in search of unity and reconciliation between even the most vastly different materials and ideas.”

installation spread
installation spread: works by Adela Akers, Thomas Hucker, Norma Minkowitz, Neha Puri Dhir, John McQueen on the left and Lia Cook, Ed Rossbach , Sue Lawty on the right

Get your copy of the Discourse catalog from our website: https://store.browngrotta.com/c53-discourse-art-across-generations-and-continents/. It’s a good read!

More Pop-Ups Please!

June 5, 2024 0 Comment
Space 67 - bogarts Pop-Up installation
From left to right: Repos + Paix-side by Mariette Rousseau-Vermette, Embarrilado Azul by Carolina Yrarrázaval, Fire Fright and Range Fire by Lewis Knauss, CMA-CGM by Laura Foster Nicholson, Arm & Hammer by John McQueen and Peninsula by Mary Merkel-Hess. Photo by Tom Grotta

We had a chance to do an expanded Pop-Up at Space67 in Norwalk, CT last month. We were first asked to curate an exhibition that would be enjoyed by individuals who attended The Supper Club. Then, with the exhibition in place, we decided to create a public Pop Up for one day and invite our fans, people in Norwalk, and those just walking by. 

Haiti inspired Chicken Tender
Haiti-inspired, Braised chicken tender in creole sauce – yuka – plantain crisp – cilantro avocado salsa verde was one of extraordinary seven courses served at The Supper Club. Photo by Tom Grotta

The Supper Club dinner was a project of the Kitchen Incubator at the Village Community Foundation in Stamford, CT. The Incubator Program at The Village is a nonprofit program that supports local, diverse entrepreneurs and startups in the food and beverage industry. 

Supper Club Chefs
Chefs Xavier Santiago, Marta Garcia, and Ivan Romero, their crew, and Village Community Foundation President, Jon Winkel, addressing diners. Photo by Tom Grotta

The Supper Club at Space67 involved three exceptional chefs — Chef Xavier Santiago, Chef Marta Garcia, and Chef Ivan Romero — who, with a talented crew, prepared a 7-course meal with offerings from Colombia, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, and the Dominican Republican. 

Supper Club at Space 67
Between courses at Space 67. Photo by Tom Grotta

Sixty people were served, music was provided by The Briefly Educated & Friends and a great time was had by all!

browngrotta Pop-up Space 67 art exhibition
Falling Fruit by John McQueen, Cimbreante by Eduardo and María Eugenia Dávila Portillo and Pre-Columbian Meets Mid-Century Modern by James Bassler. Photo by Carter Grotta

In support of the South American food and drinks (Cuba Libre, Clarified Piña Colada, and Hibiscus Lemonade) that were served, we chose a Pan-American theme for the works we exhibited: Continental Divide: Fiber Art from North and South America included artists from Chile, Venezuela, Canada, and the US. Falling Fruit by John McQueen, Carolina Yrråzaval’s Embarrilado Azul, Cimbreante by Eduardo Portillo and María Davila and CMA-CGM by Laura Foster Nicholson were among the most-commented-upon works in the exhibition.

John McQueen and MAry Merkel-Hess
Arm & Hammer by John McQueen and Peninsula by Mary Merkel-Hess. Photo by Tom Grotta

For the public Pop-Up we added work by Mary Merkel-Hess and a large sculpture by John McQueen.

Claude Vermette by the vaults
Coq-de-Bruyere by Claude Vermette by the Vaults. Photo by Tom Grotta

Pop-Ups serve an important objective of ours at browngrotta arts — to bring fine fiber art to more and varied audiences. Watch for more!