The Grand Dame of Textile Art

Sheila Hicks’s brilliantly colored loops, tangles, weaves, and tassels produce an instantaneous, visceral reaction.

The work of Sheila Hicks is a feast for more than the eyes. As writer Véronique Vienne found out in writing a feature article on the artist for Metropolis, Hicks's brilliantly colored loops, tangles, weaves, and tassels produce an instantaneous, visceral reaction. You can sample the splendour of the textile installations on pages 78-85 of our June 2011 issue, or here. But we couldn't resist offering up some more images of Hicks's art, and a video of her speaking in her characteristically intuitive way at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum last month: (click on images to enlarge) Trapeze de Cristobal (1971) (detail) Wool, linen, cotton; 129 15/16 X 783/4 inches Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

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Sheila Hicks: 50 Years at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Philadelphia.


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Linen Lean-to (1967-68) Linen; 591/2 X 823/4 X6 inches The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Menhir

Photo: Pierre Plattier

Menhir (1998–2004) linen, cotton, stainless steel; dimensions variable Private Collection.

Color Alphabet

Photo: Pierre Plattier

Color Alphabet II/VI (1988) wool; 74 13/16 x 72 13/16 in. (190.0 x 185.0 cm) Collection of Itaka Martignoni.

Prophecy_Constantinople1

Photo: Bastiaan van den Berg

Prophecy from Constantinople (2008–10) linen, wool; 236 1/4 x 70 7/8 in. (600.0 x 180.0 cm) Private collection.

Sheila Hick's presentation begins at 00:19:00. Video courtesy Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. For more, read Sheila Hicks: The Art of the Yarn in our June 2011 issue. Sheila Hicks: 50 Years is on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia until August 7. The beautifully produced accompanying publication is available from Yale University Press.

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