JOLANTA OWIDZKA

EUR 20,000 + VAT

Composing the Matter of Time, 2017

Cotton, linen, hemp 

82 x 130 cm

About this work

A red line cuts prominently across an abstracted landscape with birds, suggesting a screen glitch rather than a natural feature.  That incursion of the contemporary is consistent with Ezra Shales’ description of Owidzka’s works as both ‘ancient tapestries’ and ‘modern woven forms’. The title may also refer to how the time is taken to make a tapestry is visibly present in the result, so to weave is to ‘compose the matter of time’.

JOLANTA OWIDZKA BIOGRAPHY

The transformation of ‘weaving’ into ‘textile art’ in Poland owes much to how Jolanta Owidzka, together with Magdalena Abakanowicz, took traditional techniques into new territory. In particular, Owidzka (Radom, 1927 – Warsaw, 2020) developed the woven work’s site-specific role in architectural settings. She has also published widely on the links between weaving and interior design. Owidzka explained her chief interest as ‘generating structures depending on the needs of a given interior’, noting that a woven work affects not just the appearance, but also the acoustics and atmosphere of a given space.