Exhibition Review – Magdalena Abakanowicz, Every Tangle of Thread and Rope
Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930-2017) was a Polish artist known for her sculptural work across a variety of mediums. This is a review of Every Tangle of Thread and Rope, a magnificent exhibition of her woven works at Tate Modern in London until May 2023.
It is wonderful — and rare — to see an exhibition devoted to the woven work of a singular artist, all the more so on such a grand scale. The exhibition takes care to contextualise the works in Abakanowicz’s life as well as her politically turbulent surroundings; a story which is little known outside Poland.
The show provides an intimate look into Abakanowicz’s working practices and studio environment. Woven pieces are interlaced with collected objects and works in other mediums.Her fascination with organic forms and materials is ever-present. As she explained, “It is from fibre that all the living organisms are built, the tissue of plants, leaves and ourselves… My works grow to a leisurely rhythm, like creations of nature. They are organic like creations of nature.And like creations of nature, they will eventually return to the earth.”
The exhibition is thoughtfully arranged, winding through the spacious halls of the former power station. It gradually reveals a sweeping range of works, from traditional formats to sculptural installations. It is captivating to trace the evolution of her tapestries from rectangular flat-weave to increasingly fluid forms, draping and pooling around the walls.
The crescendo of the show is a dense forest of the large, eponymous Abakans for which Abakanowicz is most famous. She described the Abakans as her “escape from the categories in art”. Here, they hang freely in space, clustered in dialogue. Their arrangement carefully echoes her intended presentation, creating an immersive fibrous environment.
It is incredible to wander among the Abakans, experiencing them from every angle and peering into their bulbous barnacled majesty. There is a sense of being enveloped; lost within their curves and shadows. They hold a saturation of feeling in deep resonant reds, viscous blacks and petrol blues.
Throughout the exhibition, the reverberations of the Second World War are keenly felt. Abakanowicz was born in 1930 and her childhood was uprooted by the trauma of war. Her family fled to Warsaw after soldiers broke into their home and severed her mother’s arm. They were separated by the turmoil of the Warsaw Uprising and German reprisals which razed nearly 90% of the city to the ground.
From 1948, she trained as a painter and a weaver, living under the oppressive regime that ruled Poland for decades thereafter. The arts were subject to waves of censorship and restriction, while rationing and protests swept the nation. Echoes of these conflicts permeate the works on display. Wandering through the exhibition halls, many of the works evoke a body fragmented, scar tissue slit and re-woven.
Propelled by material shortages, Abakanowicz began to create using ropes scavenged from theWisła river. These were disentangled, dyed and reformed. Rope became an important medium in her work, used both to join and to tear apart. Several of the Abakans on display stand bellies open, ropes spilling in glistening coils.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Abakanowicz gained international recognition as a leader of theEuropean New Tapestry movement. Yet censorship remained a constant shadow. Her first solo show was closed for not being engaged with building socialism. On several occasions, she was denied permission to travel to overseas shows. Thus, her art had to speak for itself. Abakanowicz was conscious that her works could reach a global audience to which her fellow nationals had little meaningful access. Her weavings subtly defied the censorship of the times, providing a dialogue between her captive country and the outside world.
The exhibition will be on display at Tate Modern until 21 May 2023. I warmly urge you to go. It is an experience that cannot be fully captured in words or photographs, and one not to be missed. You can find more details on the Tate Modern website.