Light can also impact a viewer’s experience — influencing the narrative, highlighting focal points. In the works pictured here, light influences the viewer’s experience, creating one — or more —  works when light is shown on the art and a very different second work when shown without a light source. Straight on, light may turn a metallic-tinged work a brilliant white. When light is indirect, the highlight dim and new qualities emerge.

In Adela Akers’s Night Pyramid, a mountainscape comes into sharp focus when illuminated. The image is formed from small strips of foil integrated into the weaving. In Serene Countenance by Polly Barton, the artist uses metallic monofilament and metallic thread to create a subtle glimmer in shadow that transforms into a glowing orb when a light source is introduced. The weft’s metallic thread is brass wrapped around a nylon core, while the warp is a striped combination of silk and metallic-coated monofilament. Other examples of works incorporating metallic threads are Baiba Osite’s Lauks (Field in Autumn) and Animal by Lija Rage.

While living in Japan in the 1980s, Glen Kaufman developed a unique and complex technique in which light provides the finishing touch. He began by weaving a twill pattern in silk, composing collages of photographic imagery and silk-screening those images onto the cloth. He then further abstracted the imagery by applying metal leaf. “When I began using … photography, photo silk screen, metal-leaf application,” Kaufman said, “[it] was a unique use of those materials.”

Yeonsoon Chang also employs metallic materials, developing a method to adhere gold leaf to fibers. Her striking works blend innovative technique with references to classical Eastern philosophy. In works such as The Moon, the Stars, the Sun, light reveals shifting perspectives and diverse experiences. In one video, illumination transforms an already intriguing piece into something entirely new, bringing the metal leaf into sharp focus and casting compelling shadows through the mesh structure

In Kyoko Kumai’s hands, stainless steel mesh appears infused with light, an effect heightened when an external light source is added. Agneta Hobin’s works pull glimmers of light through stainless steel mesh and the unexpected use of mica.

Optical fiber provides an exciting medium for artists Wlodzimierz Cygan and Mariette Rousseau-Vermette. In Totems, a complex weaving takes on a new character when the optical fiber is lit and shifts in color. In Mariette Rousseau-Vermette’s Élégante, a slash of shimmering optical fiber creates subtle intrigue when unlit and serves as a dramatic counterpoint when illuminated. 

Several works for which light is an element or an enhancement will be included in browngrotta arts’ upcoming exhibition, Transformations: dialogues in art and materials (May 9 – 17). 

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Acknowledging Asawa’s attraction, Artsy recently complied 6 Artists to Follow If You Like Ruth Asawa (Artsy, Tara Anne Dalbow, Apr 2, 2025). The list includes Chiaru Shiota, Naomi Wanjiku Gakunga, Gertrud Hals, Marci Chevali, Nnenna Okore, and Mari Andrews. Like Asawa’s, these artists’ work reflect natural forms like snail shells, insect wings, and spider webs, and is “characterized by a sense of levity that defies common perceptions of weight and gravity.”

Not surprisingly. browngrotta arts has its own list — four more artists to follow if you admire Asawa:

First, Asawa’s contemporary, Kay Sekimachi (b. 1926). Kay Sekimachi is best known for her ethereal monofilament sculptures. The series began in 1963 as an experiment to weave a wall hanging in multiple, translucent layers. After weaving a linen sample, Sekimachi realized she could produce three-dimensional forms using Dupont’s recently introduced nylon monofilament material. Sekimachi wove her monofilament sculptures as flat, interlocking layers that when suspended, folded-out into organic forms that she named after natural phenomena. Ogawa II, on display here, translates from Japanese to “little river” or “stream.”

Similarly evocative, though differently executed, are Shoko Fukuda’s undulating sculptures of white ramie. Shoko Fukuda is a basketmaker and Japanese artist who has exhibited her work internationally for the past 10 years. Fukuda currently works as an instructor at Kobe Design University in the Fashion Design department. Fukuda is interested in “distortion” as a characteristic of basket weaving. “As I coil the thread around the core and shape it while holding the layers together, I look for the cause of distortion in the nature of the material, the direction of work and the angle of layers to effectively incorporate these elements into my work. The elasticity and shape of the core significantly affect the weaving process, as the thread constantly holds back the force of the core trying to bounce back outward.” By selecting materials and methods for weaving with the natural distortion in mind, Fukuda saw the possibility of developing twists and turns. “I find it interesting to see my intentions and the laws of nature influencing each other to create forms.”  Connected Contours VII evokes forms from nature. Fukuda imagined a structure resembling a bird spreading its wings and constructed the form based on this concept. By connecting parts of the contours, she says, “the individual shapes retain their inherent twisted forms and natural movement, while the overall structure is designed to achieve harmony.”

Working in metal, like Asawa, is Kyoko Kumai. She weaves thin metal wires together to make a textile which she uses as a means of expression to explore various aspects of wind, air, and light. The walls, or carpets, or rooms of shimmery filaments she creates are revelatory. Kumai has had 67 solo exhibitions since 1983, including exhibiting Air at the Museum of Modern Art’s Project Space in 1991. Roberta Smith wrote in The New York Times that the stainless steel Kumai used in Air “is eminently industrial” … “Yet the same qualities that make Miss Kumai’s work seem contemporary and Western are also quintessentially Japanese: foremost is its obvious faith in the power of beautiful materials handled simply but creatively and in unexpected ways.” Smith concluded that Kumai’s work was one of the strongest works of Japanese art to be shown in New York in some time.”  (Roberta Smith, “Review/Art; A Weaving of Stainless-Steel Thread,” The New York Times, May 10, 1991.)

Working in monofilament, like Kay Sekimachi, but with differing results, was Yvonne Pacanovsky Bobrowicz (1928 – 2022).  An awarding-winning artist, Bobrowicz was known for her cascading, light-transmitting sculptures made of synthetic monofilament. Bobrowicz was concerned with interconnections — interconnectedness and continuum. The artist told the Senior Artists Initiative in Philadelphia in 2003, “My work has been combining natural materials with synthetics, relating opposites, randomness and order — dark, light, reflective, opaque, and light absorbent, incorporating gold leaf, reflecting sculptures of monofilament, reflective and alchemically symbolic — unifying them in a variety of densities, scale, and configurations.” Bobrowicz studied with Marianne Strengell at the Cranbook Academy of Art and with Anni Albers at the Philadelphia Museum and School of Industrial Art, now University of the Arts. In the 1980s, she collaborated with renowned architect Louis Kahn. Like Sekimachi, Bobrowicz’s mesmerizing work captivated audiences with its light-transmitting qualities. Images of several of her works can be found online at the Sapir Contemporary Gallery website.

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To start off the month, we highlighted art from renowned Japanese artist Kyoko Kumai. With a background in weaving, Kumai honed her craft over the years, refining her own techniques of interlacing and knotting. Since 1975, she has been exploring the possibilities of stainless steel filaments – resulting in mesmerizing pieces that exude an ethereal, weightless quality, evoke a sense of movement and garner her international acclaim.

It’s been an absolute honor for us to collaborate with such a talented artist, and we couldn’t wait to share her work with all of you this month.

Up next in March, we then turned our spotlight to the late, gifted artist Tsuruko Tanikawa. Tanikawa’s profound exploration of space, shade, and light was deeply rooted in her use of metal, which she described as simultaneously open and interconnected.

“I am interested both in a part in light and in a part in shadow,” said Tsuruko Tanikawa. “The shape of my work is made by deleting a part from a complete form.”

It was a privilege to delve into Tanikawa’s remarkable body of work and share her artistic journey with you this month.

We then turned our focus to UK artist, Caroline Bartlett. Bartlett delves deep into the historical, social, and cultural dimensions of textiles, delving into their tactile significance and their unique capacity to evoke memory.

In her practice, she masterfully blends techniques, imprinting, stitching, erasing, and reworking cloth, seamlessly integrating textiles with other media like porcelain.

We’re thrilled to announce that Bartlett is among the esteemed lineup of 50+ artists to be showcased in our forthcoming exhibition, Discourse. We can’t wait to present her captivating work to you firsthand!

Finishing off the month strong, we featured the work of artist Irina Kolesnikova. Originally from Russia and now based in Germany, Kolesnikova brings a unique perspective to her textile creations.

Her pieces often delve into the interplay of color and texture, weaving together a narrative that resonates deeply with viewers. Kolesnikova’s exploration extends to black-and-white photography, where she cleverly integrates silhouettes, attire details, and occupational symbols into her collages, which are then translated into intricate weavings.

In her own words, her creations offer a glimpse into her alter ego—a whimsical, slightly awkward character navigating the complexities of life.

Kolesnikova is another talented artist that will be featured in Discourse this May, so be sure to mark your calendars to see her work for yourselves!

Thank you for joining us on this remarkable journey. Stay tuned for more updates, insights, and artistic discoveries in the months ahead. Until then, keep exploring, keep creating, and keep embracing the beauty of art in all its forms.

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New York, NY
A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes 
through February 4, 2024
Cooper Hewitt
2 East 91st Street
New York, NY 10128
https://www.cooperhewitt.org/channel/dorothy-liebes/

From the 1930s through the 1960s, American textile designer, weaver, and color authority Dorothy Liebes (1897–1972) collaborated with some of the most prominent architects and designers of the time, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Dreyfuss, Donald Deskey, Raymond Loewy, and Samuel Marx. Fashion designers, including Pauline Trigère, Adrian, and Bonnie Cashin, also used her fabrics, yielding some of the most distinctively American fashions of the mid-20th century. Artist Glen Kaufman and Mariette Rousseau-Vermette worked in her studios in New York and San Francisco. The “Liebes Look”—which combined vivid color, lush texture, and often a glint of metallic—became inextricably linked with the American modern aesthetic. This exhibition features more than 175 works—including textiles, textile samples, fashion, furniture, documents, and photographs — to highlight the powerful — but largely unacknowledged impact she has had on 20th-century design. 

Stockholm, Sweden
Beauty in the Unexpected: Modern and Contemporary Crafts
through January 21, 2024
Södra Blasieholmshamnen 2
Stockholm, Sweden
https://www.nationalmuseum.se/en/exhibitions/beauty-and-the-unexpected

Nationalmuseum has invited Helen W. Drutt English, pioneering craft educator and gallerist of American Modern and Contemporary Crafts since the 1960s, to assemble a collection of objects drawn from the field of “American Crafts”. The selection of 81 works from the 1950s until today will in future enrich Nationalmuseum’s collections and will provide a possibility to look at American Crafts in the Nordic context. Fiber artists have a good representation – Lenore Tawney,Lewis Knauss, Warren Seelig, Gyöngy Laky, Yvonne Bobroowicz, Deborah Rappoport, Nancy Worden, Rise Nagin, and Ted Hallman are all included in the collection.

Washington, DC
Shared Honors and Burdens: Renwick Invitational
through March 31, 2024
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
1661 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC
https://www.si.edu/exhibitions/sharing-honors-and-burdens-renwick-invitational-2023:event-exhib-6575

The Renwick Invitational 2023 features artists Joe Feddersen (Arrow Lakes/Okanagan), Lily Hope (Tlingit), Ursala Hudson (Tlingit), Erica Lord (Athabaskan/Iñupiat), Geo Neptune (Passamaquoddy), and Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe). Together, these artists present a fresh and nuanced vision of Native American art. The artists were selected for their work that expresses the honors and burdens that Native artists balance as they carry forward their cultural traditions. These artists highlight principles of respect, reciprocity, and responsibility through their work that addresses themes of environmentalism, displacement, and cultural connectedness.

Riga, Latvia
Exodus: Baiba Osite
7th Riga International Textile and Fiber Art Triennial
through September 19, 2023
Dubulti Art Station
Riga, Latvia
https://www.lnmm.lv/en/museum-of-decorative-arts-and-design/news/programme-of-the-7th-riga-international-textile-and-fibre-art-triennial-quo-vadis-139

Baiba Osīte‘s wide-scope solo exhibition Exodus is part of the 7th Riga International Textile and Fiber Art Triennial QUO VADIS? The curator, Inga Šteimane, writes about Osite’s “paintings” made of pieces of wood washed out of the sea – “both landscape and abstract in conjunction, as well as archaic and modern ecological. The personal exhibition Exodus was created in a similar synthesis – the historical and the philosophically abstract are together, just like the experienced, felt and imagined.” For the artist, exodus [leaving] is a biblical theme that tells the story of the people of Israel coming out of slavery in Egypt, passing through the sea, escaping their persecutors and gaining their land and freedom. Osite says she has always been interested in this topic from the perspective of an individual’s life, but currently it is particularly relevant to the fate of one nation and humanity globally.” She sees parallels with what’s happening in Ukraine right now. “[T]hey’re fighting for their freedom,” she notes, “for their independence, for their respect among other nations. They’re just fighting it out in a very hard fight. And I think it doesn’t leave anyone indifferent.”

Denbighshire, UK
Natural (Re)Sources
through September 24, 2023
Ruthin Gallery
Gallery 1
Denbighshire, UK
through September 24, 2023
http://ruthincraftcentre.org.uk/whats-on/coming-soon-gallery-1/

Natural (Re)Sources looks at the origin of an artist’s chosen materials. This doesn’t mean that the finished work looks as if it has just been collected from a forest floor, or dug from the ground without intervention, but rather that the material basis for work that is “of the earth” in various forms. The exhibition is curated by Gregory Parsons and includes work by Laura Bacon and  Gizella K Warburton.

East Hampton NY
Maren Hassinger: Monuments
through December 31, 2023
LongHouse Reserve
133 Hands Creek Road
East Hampton NY 
Artist: Maren Hassinger

A native of Los Angeles, Maren Hassinger (b.1947) is a multimedia artist whose practice bridges fiber arts, installation, performance, and sculpture. Incorporating everyday materials such as wire, rope, newspapers, plastic bags, petals, and dirt, Hassinger’s art explores the subjects of movement, family, love, nature, the environment, consumerism, identity, and race.

East Hampton NY
A Summer Arrangement: Object & Thing
weekends through December 31, 2023
LongHouse Reserve
133 Hands Creek Road
East Hampton NY
Exhibition: A Summer Arrangement

While you are at LongHouse, visit A Summer Arrangement: Object & Thing at LongHouse features works by several artists and designers, including works from the collection of LongHouse founder Jack Lenor Larsen (1927-2020).

Quebec, Canada
International Linen Biennial in Portneuf (BILP)
through October 1, 2023
Heritage sites throughout Deschambault-Grondines 
Quebec, Canada
https://www.artemorbida.com/biennale-internationale-du-lin-de-portneuf-bilp-2023/?lang=en

Anneke Klein (the Netherlands) Blair Tate (United States of America) Stéphanie Jacques (Belgium), Carole Frève (Québec) are all participants in the international Biennial of Linen in Portneuf, Canada now on view. The BILP is a cultural event showcasing works of professional artists exploring new ideas inspired by linen and flax, covering both technical and conceptual aspects. The subject of flax and linen is addressed through themes as varied as contemporary visual arts, crafts and design. The event takes place in different heritage sites of Deschambault-Grondines every odd year, since 2005.

Denver, Colorado
Indigo 
Denver Botanic Garden
York Street Location
Denver, Colorado
through November 5, 2023

Open now, the Indigo exhibition at the Denver Botanic Garden features work by Polly Barton, Eduardo Portillo and Mariá Dávila, Chiyoko Tanaka, Hiroyuki Shindo, and Yeonsoon Chang, as well as other artists from across the globe. 

London, UK
Japanese Contemporary Craft
Victoria & Albert Museum
Japan, Room 45, The Toshiba Gallery
Cromwell Road
London SW7 2RL
through July 2025
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1731010/memory-sculpture-kumai-kyoko/

The V&A’s spectacular Japan collections feature ceramics, lacquer, arms and armour, woodwork, metalwork, textiles and dress, prints, paintings, sculpture and modern and contemporary studio crafts. Currently on display, Memory by Kyoko Kumai.

Enjoy!

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We may have anticipated what would become a decorating trend. “Suspended Art is the New Gallery Wall,” claimed Apartment Therapy in 2021. “If you’ve been able to visit a museum or gallery safely recently (or even caught a digital exhibition), then you might have noticed that artwork is starting to move off of walls,” wrote Danielle Blunder. “Framed pieces and canvases alike are being suspended straight from ceilings, and I have to say, it’s an ever-so-slight — but clever — alternative to the gallery wall that I’d consider trying in my home to create an unexpected focal point.” (“This Art Hanging Idea Will Make Your Favorite Pieces Look Even More Luxe,” Danielle Blunder, Apartment Therapy, August 14, 2021. https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/suspending-art-from-the-ceiling-36962165.) Blunder’s article gives several examples, including a designer who hung a framed photograph from the ceiling in front of a pair of heavy drapes — effectively creating a picture wall where there wasn’t one. Below are examples of works that could be ceiling-installed in front of a window.

The results of a ceiling installation can be dramatic. Federica Luzzi’s contemporary fiber works have hung in Renaissance spaces, creating intriguing juxtapositions. Jane Balsgaard’s boats have graced churches — inspiring transcendent experiences. 

Grethe Wittrock’s lofty sail works create another incentive for using ceiling space.

Mia Olsson’s sisal panels create still one more.

And, of course, there’s always straight from the ceiling, like these works by Masakazu and Naomi Kobayashi. 

Contact us at art@browngrotta.com for ideas to create an aerial gallery in your space. Send us photos of the spot you have in mind and we can digitally install various options.

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NYTM
New York Textile Month
New York City and nearby locations
https://www.textilemonth.nyc

In New York, it’s NYTM — New York Textile Month.  That means range of activities — talks, films, studio visits, workshops, an in-window exhibition at Bergdorf Goodman, exhibitions at Mana Contemporary and elsewhere, and Eva Hesse’s Expanded Expansion at the Guggenheim — all celebrating textile art, making and conservation. Check out the NYTM website for suggestions, times, and dates.

Contemporary Weaving Artist Series 6: Kyoko Kumai
Through November 6, 2022
Nakahechi Museum of Art
891 Kinro Nakahechi-machi
Tanabe-shi Wakayama-ken Japan
Tel; 0739-65-0390 
https://www.tokyoartbeat.com/en/events/-/2022%2Fcontemporary-weaving-artist-series-vi-kyoko-kumai

Since 2017, Tanabe City Museum of Art has been presenting Contemporary Weaving, an exhibition series that showcases outstanding contemporary weavers who create world-class works by combining traditional and unique materials and techniques with new weaving expressions that reflect the times. This year’s Contemporary Weaving Artist Series 6 features the art of Kyoko Kumai (1943), who has expanded the world of weaving through her innovative use of metallic threads, and continues to develop a variety of expressions that evoke light and wind.

Intellectual Beauty
2nd International Exhibition of Textile Art and Mixed Media
Museu Textil 
September 1 – February 28, 2022
Virtual
https://www.museutextil.com

Rodrigo Franzao founded a fully envisioned virtual museum that focuses on the work of artists who “use textile strategies as support for their creations.” For Intellectual Beauty, Fanzao has gathered 43 artists from 18 countries, who have used their “sensitive reality to introduce to the beholder the sensorial perceptions of a reality emancipated from rules and theory, free and absorbed by inspiration.” You can view the entire exhibition, 116 artworks, including two by Jeannet Leenderste, online.

Contextile 2022
September 3 – October 31, 2022
Guimarães, Portugal

Contextile 2022 – Contemporary Textile Art Biennial celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year. The exhibition features 57 works by 50 artists from 34 countries chosen for their high creativity, originality and technical competence around the textile element, by construction, theme, concept or material used, as well as their adherence to the concept of Contextile 2022: RE-MAKE.  Among the artists included are Neha Puri Dhir of India. In addition, the Contextile organizers selected Norway as its invited country and are presenting work from 13 Norwegian textile artists including Åse Ljones.

X International Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art, “25 Years World Textile Art”
From November 3rd to December 15th, 2022
Miami International Fine Art (MIFA)
5900 NW 74th Ave
Miami, FL 33166
Colombia Consulate
280 Aragon Ave Coral Gables, FL 33134

This year 2022, WTA celebrates its 25th anniversary with the X International Biennial “25 YEARS WTA”, from October through December 2022. For the 10 th Biennial, more than ten countries will be interconnected to celebrate WTA history through salons featuring 25 artists each. A number of artists will have worked displayed in connection with this exhibition including Anneke Klein.

Allies for Art: Work from NATO-related countries
October 8-16, 2022
browngrotta arts
Wilton, Connecticut
http://www.browngrotta.com/Pages/calendar.php

Mindful of the impact that poitical events can have on artists and their art, browngrotta arts will present to work of nearly 50 artists from 21 NATO-related countries in Europe whose work reflects diverse perspectives and experiences. Allies for Art: Work from NATO-related countries (October 8 – 16, 2022) will include art created under occupation, in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, art by those who left Hungary, Spain and Romania while occupied, and who left Russia in later years, including Jolanta Owidzka, Zofia Butrymowicz, and Krystyna Wojtyna-Drouet of Poland and Luba Krejci and Jan Hladik of Czechoslovakia, Ceca Georgieva of Bulgaria, Gyöngy Laky (Hungary/US), Ritzi Jacobi (Romania/Germany), Adela Akers (Spain/US), Aleksandra Stoyanov (Ukraine/Israel) and Irina Kolineskova (Russia/Germany). Allies for Art will also include recently created art by artists living in Europe, including works by Gudrun Pagter of Denmark, Åse Ljones of Norway, Ulla-Maija Vikman of Finland, Heidrun Schimmel of Germany, Lilla Kulka and Włodmierz Cygan of Poland, and, five artists new to browngrotta arts, including, Esmé Hofman of the Netherlands, Aby Mackie of Spain and Baiba Osite of Latvia.

Reserve your space on Eventbrite.

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Heidrun Schimmel

Seven works by Heidrun Schimmel have been acquired since 2020. Two by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden, two by Museum of Applied Art, Frankfurt and three by the Diocesan Musuem in Bamberg.

Kyoko Kumai

One work by Kyoko Kumai was acquired by the Angers Museums in Angers, France (Jean-Lurçat and the Museum of Contemporary Tapestry) and another by the Janina Monkute-Marks Art Museum in Kedainai, Lithuania.

Carolina Yrarrázaval

Two tapestries were selected on May of this year at Yrarrázaval’s exhibition in Kyoto by the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Kyoto.

Åse Ljones

Åse Ljones‘ work, Atterskin, was purchased by Nordenfjeldske Art and Craft Museum in Trondheim , Norway in 2020 and Mylder was purchased The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, March 2021. 

Federica Luzzi

An encased textile, Shell-Omaggio a Costanino Dardi, by Federica Luzzi was acquired by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Salerno, Italy for a collection curated by Fondazione Filiberto e Bianca Menna – Centro Studi D’Arte Contemporanea.

The textile object is suspended and anchored with nylon thread in a plexiglass box. Like a seed, with an aerodynamic shape that is structured for long movements and transport, it is closed in a box that prevents its natural and complete movement, it is trapped in it. “This work was done just before the outbreak of the pandemic,” Luzzi says. “So without knowing what would happen, but continuing my research on envelopes, I visualized even better the containment condition of a body.”

Simone Pheulpin

Two artworks by Simone Pheulpin have been acquired by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs i(MAD) inn Paris in December 2019: Jéromine, Série Eclipse (2019); Eclosion Epingles (2019). Another, Détail VII (2021), will be acquired by the same museum in 2021. The acquisitions were organized by the Galerie Maison Parisienne in Paris.

Wlodzimierz Cygan

In 2021, Organic (2018) by Wlodzimierz Cygan was acquired by the Musée de la Tapisserie et des Arts Textiles de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (TAMAT) in Tournai, Belgium.

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We have learned about a host of acquisitions for artists who work with browngrotta arts’ since our acquisition reports last July and August 2018.  A large number of our artists’ work are now included in the collection of The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum thanks to the remarkable gift of the late Lloyd Cotsen, former chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Neutrogena Corporation, which included 4,000 textiles, an endowment and equipment to support the textile collections he assembled.

The gift includes the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection, one of the world’s most significant textile study collections ever assembled by an individual and The Box Project: Uncommon Threads, organized by Cotsen Foundation for Academic Research, which includes work by John Garrett, Helena Hernmarck, Agneta Hobin, Kiyomi Iwata, Lewis Knauss, Naomi Kobayashi, Nancy Koenigsberg, Gyöngy Laky, Heidrun Schimmel and Hisako Sekijima. Cotsen’s gift also included Lia Cook’s 1999 work, Attitude.

Other acquisitions of note:

Ed Rossbach: Bobbin Lace, 1970, was acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art, through browngrotta arts.

Eduardo Portillo and Mariá Eugenia Dávila: New Nebula, 2017, was acquired by the Toledo Art Museum in Ohio, through browngrotta arts.

Norma Minkowitz: The Minneapolis Institute of Art purchased a crocheted and stitched wall hanging called Journeys End, 2017, and a stitched drawing with collage and crochet, Lunar Landing, 2017.

Shin Young-ok: Rhymes from 2000 was acquired by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea

Chang Yeonsoon:  In addition to being a finalist for the Loewe Craft Prize in 2018, the Loewe Foundation in London collected three works of Chang Yeonsoon’s works in August, 2018.

Polly Barton: Fertile Ground, was chosen by the Art in Embassies program to be in the US Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Nancy Koenigsberg: Teal Concentric Boxes was a gift from Camille and Alex Cook to the Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin.

Ethel Stein: Butah, 2011, went to the Art Institute of Chicago in Illinois through browngrotta arts.

Kyoko Kumai: Kumai’s tapestry, Diagonal, which was acquired by teh Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 2016, is on display at the Museum until the end of July 2020. The National  Museum of Art in Riga, Latvia collected Kumai’s work in 2018.

Åse Ljones: Three pieces from Ljones’ series, It is Still Quiet, were acquired by KODE Museum, Bergen, Norway in 2017.

Adela Akers: In 2018 Akers’ work, Traced Memories, was acquired by The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco/De Young Museum.

Gyöngy Laky: In addition to This Way and That, which is part of The Box Collection, which went to the The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, Seek, from 2016, was acquired by the United States State Department for the new Kosovo Embassy in Pristina. 

Helen Hernmarck: Moot, 1971 was acquired by the Minneapolis Institute of Art. 

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Mary Giles, Lead Relief Detail

The National Museum of Women in the Art’s new exhibition Heavy Metal comes to an end this Sunday, September 16th. Heavy Metal is the fifth installment of the NMWA’s Women to Watch exhibition series, which seeks to increase the visibility of female artists who are working in innovative ways within a wide variety of creative communities.

Why metal? Well, because “metal is a material that is typically associated with the work of men,” points out associate curator Ginny Treanor. Metal is “a material that often requires physical strength and endurance to bend, shape and mold.” Nonetheless, women have a long history of working with metal. Additionally, metal is indispensable to our everyday lives, it holds up the buildings we live and work in, forms the frame of the cars we drive every day and adorns our bodies.

Life had turned around Detail by Carole Fréve

Women artists who work with browngrotta arts work in all manners of metal, including bronze, copper, steel and titanium. Kyoko Kumai is one of many browngrotta arts artists that use metal as their material. In making Blue/Green as a metaphor Kumai combined titanium tapes and stainless steel fibers to create a metal weaving. Kumai prefers using these materials because of their light, fade-resistant and hard properties which allows them to retain the image she gives them for many years.

Mary Giles preferred working with metals is because of their varying physical properties. Giles used a variety of metals in her work, including copper, tinned copper, iron, lead and brass. The malleability of these metals when heated allowed Giles to not only alter their shape but their color. Giles was able to alter the blend colors from dark to brights, which enabled her to recreate the natural gradients which she was seeing in real life.

Nancy Koenigsberg, Current, coated copper wire

Metalworking has long been a family affair for Canadian artist Carol Fréve. Fréve followed in the steps of her grandfather, a blacksmith in Quebec in the early 1900s who forged shoes for the horses that pulled copper from mines. Over the years, Fréve has taken the traditional skills and methods her grandfather once used and experimented with them to create her own artistic process. When creating one of her wire sculptures, Fréve electro forms her copper wire knittings so they have a three-dimensional shape.

Linked copper and stainless steel wire are the materials of choice for sculptor Tsuruko Tanikawa and weaver Nancy Koenigsberg. When placed in light, the lace-like layers of wire in Koenigsberg’s Solitary Path, create an array of shadows and space. The open, yet connected nature, of the metals aid Tanikawa and Koenigsberg in exploring space, shade and light. “I  am interested both in a part in light and in a part in shadow,” explains Tanikawa.“The shape of my work is made by deleting a part from a complete form.”

Tamiko Kawata, White City, saftey pins, acrylic on canvas

Artist Tamiko Kawata collects discarded metal materials, such as safety pins, when creating her assemblage inspired pieces. Kawata’s use of discarded safety pins as her sole material elevates the pins’ “prosaic object-roles and endows them with elegance and grandeur.” Just as Kawata breaks the utilitarian role of safety pins by using them as a material to create fine art, women are altering the masculine narrative associated with metalworking.

Heavy Metal will be on display at NMWA through Sunday, September 16th. For more information on the exhibition and the museum’s hours of operation click HERE.

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Untitled, monofilament, Kay Sekimachi, monofilament, 57” x 14” x 14”, circa mid-70’s

Kay Sekimachi – Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

A hanging sculpture of monofilament, Untitled, was acquired, through browngrotta arts, by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Sekimachi made only 20 monofilaments during the span of her entire career. Untitled is the Museum’s fourth piece by Sekimachi. The Museum’s other pieces include Haleakala, Leaf Vessel #203 and Hornet’s Nest Bowl #103.

Kyoko Kumai –  Oita City Museum of Art

The Oita City Museum of Art, Prefecture, Japan acquired Kyoko Kumai’s  Way of Water・Grass. Additionally,  Kumai’s piece, Air, has been acquired by the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art. Technology. Air is currently featured in the Manggha’s exhibition Kyoko Kumai. Air, which is part of The Buddhism Project – a series of events, exhibitions and lectures that seek to

Examine historical and cultural role that Buddhism has played in the countries of the Far East, as well as its influence on the culture of the West. Kyoko Kumai. Air. Will be on display through August 26th.

Matrix II-201011, Chang Yeonsoon, indigo dyed abaca fiber, 26.75” x 26.5 “x 10”, 2010. Photo by Tom Grotta

Ane Henriksen – Danish Arts Foundation

The Danish Arts Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark acquired two works By Ane Henriksen. The pieces acquired, Business Sky and National Tartan – DK were both part of Henriksen’s solo exhibition Jens Søndergaard with the touch of Ane Henriksen at the Heltborg Museum, Thy, Denmark.

Chang Yeon-Soon – Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois recently acquired Chang Yeon-Soon’s Matrix II-201011 through browngrotta arts. Matrix II-201011 was featured in browngrotta arts’ exhibition Stimulus: art and its inception. Yeon-Soon’s Matrix 132570 was also acquired by the Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin.

Red Horizontal Line, Gudrun Pagter, 280 cm x 240 cm x 0.5 cm, sisal and flax, 2016. Photo: Danish Arts Foundation

Keiji Nio – The Musées d’ Angers

The Musées d’ Angers, Angers, France has acquired both Keiji Nio’s Red Area and Code d’accés. The Museum, which is located in the historic centre of Angers on an ancient medieval site, consists of several buildings from various epochs.

Gudrun Pagter – Danish Arts Foundation

The Danish Arts Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark has acquired a piece from artist Gudrun Pagter. The piece, Red Horizontal Line, is now on display at the Aalborg University, Institute for Architecture and Media Technology.

Dona Look – Museum of Wisconsin Art

The Museum of Wisconsin Art acquired one of Dona Look’s baskets. The basket, which is made from white birch bark and waxed silk thread was a gift of Dennis Rocheleau and the GE Foundation. This is the Museum of Wisconsin Art’s third acquisition of Look’s work.

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