A means of artistic production that has fallen by the wayside because of cost and conservationist concerns, tapestry is a historical medium that yields rich results. Every now and then, someone invests the time and money to commission artists to reinvent this age-old art form, but few have approached it on the ambitious scale of Banners of Persuasion, a London-based art organization that recently charged 15 contemporary artists with turning their best imagery into woven works of art. Previously previewed in London and Miami, a selection of these exquisite editions is now on view at James Cohan Gallery in New York.
Large in scale and varying in complexity, the works in Demons, Yarns & Tales: Tapestries by Contemporary Artists express a wide range of themes. The international art collective assume vivid astro focus collages colorful imagery to create a freeform hanging of people and patterns; British bad boy Gavin Turk montages big-brand logos to construct a map of the world that simulates an Alighiero Boetti embroidery; and Peter Blake, best known for his album cover of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, designs a stylish alphabet of 26 letters that dynamically fits 25 squares.
Other highlights include Gary Hume’s scratchy portrait of his wife, artist Georgie Hopton, engulfed in a rambunctious display of orchids; Fred Tomaselli’s bejeweled birds floating in a psychedelic field; Julie Verhoeven’s magical mix of distressed damsels, doves, and unicorns; Kara Walker’s remembrance of “rioters burning a colored orphan asylum” in the summer of 1863; and Jaime Gili’s intersecting, abstract shards of contrasting colors.
Beautifully crafted, these works offer a unique look at the abilities of artists who had never previously explored tapestry, but found that the medium still possesses a potency to express contemporary concepts.
Comments (7)
Very interesting. The medium of hand embroidery is my forte and I have enjoyed this work by the selection of artists, immensely. I work on very ambitious projects that take over 100 hours each piece. My current project will take two years. Fantastic work. Delighted to have encountered this fine art medium that I believe will never die. Bravo!
I meant I work on projects of at least 1000 hours each piece not 100 hours. Apologies.
I would be interested to know Sandra whether you are talking about canvas work here? I am particularly interested in the Alphabet Tapestry and would like to know how long you might take to do a tapestry that size. I have done many tapestried (preprinted) over the years and at 60 years of age my eyes are not as good as they were. My son has requested a “quilt facsimile” of the Alphabet. I have prepped it using 100% cotton although I have changed the fonts in some cases. I am probably going to do most of it using needleturn applique and possibly incorporate other techniques for those lettes which are decorative or shadowed. Quilting gives a differnt finish to that of canvas but is quicker. I am now wondering whether perhaps I should use a technique such as Needlepainting instead since I feel that it might lend more dimension and be easier to interpret the letters. I am really torn about this!
I suppose I could mix them. Sorry I am thinking out loud here but would aprreciate your input.
in 100 hours its immposible.wish all the best
[...] Demons, Yarns & Tales: Tapestries by Contemporary Artists, a group exhibition at James Cohan Gallery featuring works by Shazia Sikander (Season 1) and Kara Walker (Season 2), is reviewed by ArtKrush. [...]
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