By Maddie Orton
Arts Correspondent
Paint strokes and pencil lines seem to make an appearance in Hunterdon Art Museum’s upcoming show, but every one of the approximately 40 works being hung for the museum’s Contemporary International Tapestry exhibit is woven. Marjorie Frankel Nathanson heads the museum.
“It’s that perfect melding of craft and fine art because of the tradition of tapestry, but [also] how artists are just so inventive these days in using tapestry to do beautiful work,” she said.
Weaving has been around so long that fragments of tapestries were uncovered in ancient Egyptian tombs. And they’ve appeared throughout recorded history.
Part of the allure of tapestries was, and is, their functionality. They’re portable, and they can act as added insulation in a home — be that a castle or a condo.
The tapestries of today are different. Post-World War II pieces have become as much fine art as utilitarian craft. Weavers are seen as artists with a loom for a canvas.
“I’m constantly getting the question ‘how long does that take you? I wouldn’t have the patience.’ But above all of that it’s ‘oh my god I didn’t know you could do this,'” said featured artist Barbara Heller.
Heller is based out of Vancouver. Her work is featured in the show.
“It was exciting to me that I could create an image from nothing almost. It’s not painting onto a canvas, you are creating a canvas as you weave the image,” said Heller.
Exhibit curator Carol Russell says the medium is especially impactful because we encounter woven cloth every day.
“Cloth has an emotional voice as well. You would remember your baby blanket, I’m sure. I do. And so you have these emotional connections with something that is so essential,” she said.
For viewers like Nathanson, who’s not a tapestry artist, the excitement really comes from a place of awe.
“It’s extraordinary to me that, by weaving, an artist can create a work that looks like a painting,” she said. “It’s not traditionally thought of as a fine art. But I think in this day and age, when you look around this show, all of these artists who are doing such beautiful work, are showing clearly that it is clearly a fine art.”
The Contemporary International Tapestry exhibit opens this Sunday. And Hunterdon Art Museum will have featured artists like Heller on hand to talk to visitors about the ins and outs of tapestry.