Polish artistic textiles and works at the Christmas Gift Auction

In the 1960s and 1970s, Polish artistic textiles stood out for their uniqueness. The pantheon of outstanding artists from this period includes Magdalena Abakanowicz, Wojciech Sadley and Joanna Owidzka. How the history of this field of art unfolded in the post-war years and what proposals for works are on offer at Artbidy - you will find this information below.

Highlights of post-war Polish artistic textiles

Magdalena Abakanowicz should be considered one of the main representatives of the field. Her abakans - large spatial compositions, woven sculptures, quickly gained international popularity. As early as 1962, the artist achieved her first major success at the Lausanne Biennale of Artistic Textiles, and in 1965 at the São Paulo Biennale. She also took part in the exhibition Wall Hangings at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1969, together with five other artists from Poland. In addition to Abakanowicz, Barbara Falkowska, Ewa Jaroszyńska, Jolanta Owidzka, Wojciech Sadley and Zofia Butrymowicz presented their work. The event was one of the steps forward towards recognizing weaving as an art discipline and popularizing knowledge about Polish masters.

Various events, including competitions, have been and continue to be an important part of the panorama related to Polish textile art. One of the most important events - organized since the 1970s by the Textile Museum - is the "International Triennial of Textiles". According to the organizers of the event themselves, the public had a chance to see the heyday of the art in the 1960s and 1970s, the lethargy of the following decades and the renewed boom observable in recent years.

Works by Jakub Święcicki at the Christmas Gift Auction

At the nearest auction, you will be able to bid on as many as two fascinating works by Jakub Święcicki, an artist working on the borderline between fibre art, craft and design. The macramé works from the Knot series are awe-inspiring in their sheer size, both being over 2.5 metres high. According to the artist himself:

"Knot is a return to craftsmanship in an artistic collection of rugs realized using the rib macramé technique. A thicker diameter cotton wick from a Polish manufacturer was used to make the double-sided fabrics. The basic light beige colour of the cords was enriched in places with traditional dyeing. In the process of hand dyeing, raw materials rich in tannins, such as spruce cones, acacia sumac fruiting bodies and onion skins from the author's immediate surroundings, were used. The implementation of the designs using the macramé technique made it possible to disenchant its image, usually associated with decorative motifs. By using only one type of knot, a minimalist effect was achieved, showing the traditional craft in a new light. The large-format carpets are the result of several months of handwork. Each one is unique. All post-production waste is reused for workshop activities or smaller productions.''