0 FOB Final.Indd 1 05/01/2017 19:24 Published by Turner Contemporary on the Occasion of the Exhibition Entangled: Threads and Making 28 January – 7 May 2017
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0_FOB_Final.indd 1 05/01/2017 19:24 Published by Turner Contemporary on the occasion of the exhibition Entangled: Threads and Making 28 January – 7 May 2017 Turner Contemporary Rendezvous, Margate, Kent, CT9 1HG, UK T: 00 44 (0)1843 233000 www.turnercontemporary.org ISBN 0-9552363-9-8 Editor: Karen Wright Assistant Editor: Kathryn Lloyd Subeditor: Louisa Wright Art Director: Fiona Hayes For Turner Contemporary: Sarah Martin, Kate Boys-Layton, Victoria Evans Printed by Graphius, The Netherlands © Turner Contemporary, 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Texts by Ann Coxon; Stina Högkvist; Siri Hustvedt; Kathryn Lloyd; Sarah Martin; Rosa Martínez; Marit Paasche; Victoria Pomery; Anna Ray; Karen Wright. Copyright the artists, the authors and Turner Contemporary, 2017. Cover: Phyllida Barlow, untitled: brokenshelf2015, 2015, timber, plywood, steel, fabric, PVA, cement, tape, plaster, 120 x 300 x 110cm. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Alex Delfanne. 2 0_FOB_Final.indd 2 05/01/2017 19:24 4 Preface 7 Introduction: Excellence has no Sex 10 The Art of a Woman? Siri Hustvedt 20 We are all Penelope: In conversation with Frances Morris Karen Wright 30 Making Something from Something: Toward a Re-definition of Women’s Textile Art Ann Coxon 44 Philomela’s Tongue Marit Paasche 60 Debate/Share/Make Aware/Enjoy Rosa Martínez 66 Sidsel Paaske: On the Verge Stina Högkvist 80 Material Girls: From Garage to Factory Karen Wright 102 Things are Inexplicable: In conversation with Kiki Smith Karen Wright 116 Made in Margate Anna Ray 122 A Way of Waiting Peacefully: Some Works in Entangled Sarah Martin 128 Women and Hair: Materialising the Abject Kathryn Lloyd 138 Susan Hiller: Analysis and Ecstasy Karen Wright 144 Exhibiting Artists 150 Credits and Acknowledgments 3 0_FOB_Final.indd 3 05/01/2017 19:24 Preface Victoria Pomery omen have played a pivotal role in the production of art- Wworks for centuries and yet, so often, their work has been regarded as of less importance than that of men. The histories of art have often made them invisible. The reasons for this are well documented, some of which are pursued in several essays in this publication. However, when we began discussions for this exhibi- tion with critic, curator and writer Karen Wright, we hadn’t envis- aged an exhibition of work solely by women artists. The intention was to focus on a specific strand of current practice related to the use of materials, in particular textiles and threads. This area of art making relates to a much longer history, encompassing both art and craft, and through our conversations and selection of works it became apparent quite early on that women are very actively engaged in the experimentation and production of diverse works using such materials. Hence, as the list of artists emerged as an all-women line up, we felt that there was something intrinsically important in the current climate about making an exhibition solely by female artists. This exhibition brings together an extraordinarily diverse group of works from the 20th century alongside works made this century — a number of which are specially commissioned for the show. Some of the artists may be less well known than others, but the works create a fascinating narrative, spanning, as they do, an incredibly rich period in history. Indeed the exhibition as a whole poses a raft of questions about categories, hierarchies and con- temporary practice, a frequent feature of our programme here at Turner Contemporary. Curiosity has informed the selection of so much of the work, and whilst this is not seeking to be a com- prehensive survey, it demonstrates that there is a strand of prac- tice that is difficult to categorise, somehow falling between art and craft. Hannah Ryggen’s 6. oktober 1942, 1943, is a hugely impor- tant social and political document and its inclusion in Entangled: 4 ENTANGLED 2_ESSAY_Intro_VP_KW - FINAL.indd 1 05/01/2017 19:24 Threads & Making will be the first time that the tapestry has been seen in the UK. Ryggen took real personal risks to produce the work and this theme is one that recurs in many of the pieces brought together here. Ryggen is a contemporary of Anni Albers whose career began at the Bauhaus in Weimar Germany before she and her husband, Josef, left for the United States as political refugees in 1933. Both Albers’ taught at the Bauhaus where Anni had been a student, and were to become hugely influential as art- ists and teachers. Anni believed that ‘…a free way of approach- ing a material seems worth keeping in mind as far as the work of beginners is concerned. Courage is an important factor in any cre- ative effort. It can be most active when knowledge in too early a stage does not narrow the vision.’ Her work, which has been included in a number of recent group exhibitions, is ripe for re-evaluation and will soon be the subject of a large Tate Modern exhibition. Her ability to create geometric woven works from the traditional hand-weaving pro- cess was radical for its time and still captures an intense energy and quest to understand the essentials of abstraction. More recently, artists such as Phyllida Barlow, Sheila Hicks, Maria Roosen and Tatiana Trouvé are pushing their experimentation to create works that are bold, playful, intensely visual and thought-provoking. This fascination with materials and their possibilities is explored in a multitude of different ways throughout the exhibition, with artists such as Christiane Löhr and Ursula von Rydingsvard using materials that aren’t always associated with traditional categorisa- tions of the word ‘fabric’. I am extremely grateful to Karen Wright for approaching us with the outline concept for this exhibition. It is Karen’s first foray into curating in a public gallery. Her huge knowledge of artists, collectors and contemporary practice has been absolutely essen- tial to the development of Entangled: Threads & Making. Karen has worked closely with my colleagues and I to shape and develop this exhibition and we’ve had much fun in exploring and discussing our ideas together and with many of the artists. Karen has dedi- cated many hours of time as well as energy and commitment to the curatorial process and the development of this publication. She has been hugely supportive of the work of Turner Contemporary and in this instance she has been able to shape our work, for which I am enormously grateful. THREADS & MAKING 5 2_ESSAY_Intro_VP_KW - FINAL.indd 2 05/01/2017 19:24 I am also very grateful to all of the artists for their participation in the exhibition. It has been a delight to meet so many of them on recent visits and I am particularly grateful to those who have made new works for this exhibition. The generosity of spirit the artists have shown has been inspiring and is hugely appreciated. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have lent their cherished and wonderful works to the gallery. Central to any exhibition is the quality of the loans and we have been incredibly fortunate in securing works from public and pri- vate collections both in the UK and overseas. My thanks must also go the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The exhibition has been made possible with the assistance of the Government Indemnity Scheme, which is provided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, administered by Arts Council England. Additional funding has been required in order to realise such an ambitious exhibition and publication and I am grateful to our long-standing core funders Kent County Council and Arts Council England as well as The Baring Foundation, The Art Fund, OCA, Norway, The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and the Embassies of Iceland, Norway and Germany. In an era when institutions are producing fewer and fewer publications, we felt that it was important to create a document to accompany this exhibition. My thanks go to all our writers for providing a bold and thoughtful group of essays that explore many different themes and areas of research. The essays have been edited by Karen Wright, ably assisted by Kathryn Lloyd, and the book has been beautifully designed by Fiona Hayes. Finally I would like to thank all my colleagues who have con- tributed so much to the development and realisation of this exhi- bition and publication. My special thanks go to Sarah Martin, our Head of Exhibitions, Andrew Shedden, our Gallery and Technical Manager, Clare Warren, our Programme Co-ordinator and to Victoria Evans our Programme Assistant. The team has worked extremely closely with Karen and the artists, writers and lenders. This collaborative approach ensures that we are able to develop bold and ambitious exhibitions that are thoughtful and reflective, inclusive and creative. n Victoria Pomery OBE has been Director of Turner Contemporary since 2002. 6 ENTANGLED 2_ESSAY_Intro_VP_KW - FINAL.indd 3 05/01/2017 19:24 Excellence has no Sex Karen Wright orking on any project over an extended period of time Wcould lead to a feeling of ennui. This is not true of Entangled: Threads & Making. The list of artists, long and distinguished as it is, could have been lengthier. There are discoveries that could simply not fit within the space and others whom I discovered too late in the process to include. I was concerned that women, and in particular younger women, would object to being in an exhibition dedicated to female artists but this proved not to be the case.