Two Important Textile Exhibitions in London
It’s always important as a creative to get out and seek inspiration and knowledge! Living in a big city makes that easy, of course, and last week I had the pleasure of topping up my inspiration with a visit and tour of the incredible collection of African Textiles from Karun Thakar at SOAS, and also to attend an intimate talk with Dutch textile artist Claudy Jongstra at Willer Gallery.
The art world seems to have embraced the textile medium in recent years, with the outstanding Anni Albers exhibition at Tate Modern last year, and before that, the Fabric of India blockbuster at the V&A back in 2015.
Firstly, a quick look at the African Textiles on display at the Brunei Gallery, at SOAS. You still have a few days left to visit, but be quick! - it ends on 14 December.
Thakar’s collection is probably one of the largest private collections of African Textiles in the world, and the 150+ pieces are exquisite, of an extremely high quality, and many are rare. The exhibition highlights the sophistication of the textile designs, from Ewe cloths, Asafo and Fante flags from Ghana, to shawls from Tunisia and indigo robes from Cameroon, illustrating the links between the textile traditions of north and west Africa.
Beautiful colours in Ewe cloth
It was lovely to hear Karun talk about ensuring his collection is a “living collection” by giving the public access to these important cultural and historical pieces through exhibitions. The exhibition is free to visit, for more info on opening times and location, visit the SOAS website.
Lots of lovely little details like these figurative images woven into the cloth using the extra-weft technique
On to the wonderful Willer Gallery in London’s smart Kensington neighbourhood to attend a talk with fibre artist Claudy Jongstra. I’ve been a fan of her work for years, ever since seeing her large-scale, felted wall-pieces at Somerset House in 2013. (I wrote a blog post for Heart Home Magazine about the exhibition at the time). Felt-making was one of my favourite textile techniques at art college!
Jongstra is truly committed to the environment, as well as to the ancient art of felt-making. She works from a studio on her biodynamic farm in Holland, maintaining a flock of endangered, indigenous Drenthe Heath sheep for their high-quality wool, and growing fields of plants to create botanical dyes.
It was interesting to hear her talk with Helen Chislett from the FT “How To Spend It” about her work about her work in architecture and fashion, her farm and her dyeing experiments.
