Lenore Tawney with Vespers in her South Street, NY studio, 1961. Photo by Ferdinand Boesch, courtesy of Lenore G. Tawney Foundation.
A figure of profound importance in the history of fiber art, Lenore Tawney was many other things besides: a collage and assemblage artist, a wordsmith, a spiritual seeker. In 1963, she had been the primary exhibitor in Paul J. Smith’s exhibition Woven Forms, a title he borrowed from her way of describing her own work—free-hanging textile sculptures of complex structure, essentially abstract but often with anthropomorphic implication. For Objects: USA, Tawney conceived one of her most ambitious projects: a woven cube no less than twelve feet on each side, executed in varying checkerboards of double-thickness linen.
Unfortunately, this monumental undertaking proved impossible to realize; the team that attempted it at Cranbrook Academy of Art ended up breaking their loom instead. (The image in the original catalog is deceptive; it is a photo of a small prototype.) As a result, Tawney was represented in the show only with a small, if important, early weaving. For Objects: USA 2020, as a way of reflecting Tawney’s intention, we have included Peruvian, which features a black checkerboard pattern of similar design to the projected cube. The title of the work reflects her interest in ancient textiles, whose weave structures and aesthetics were a great influence upon her.
Peruvian textile in fibers. Designed and made by Lenore Tawney, USA, 1962.
18" W x 86" H
45.7cm W x 218.4cm H
FA147
Courtesy of the Lenore G. Tawney Foundation and Alison Jacques Gallery