Polish Fiber at RAM
RAM is committed to supporting diverse voices—whether that diversity reflects race, gender, sexuality, age, ability, social standing, or world perspective.
Fiber art, as a self-conscious artistic practice, often develops parallel to (or sometimes intersects with) more traditional modes of textile production such as industry and hobby-oriented handcraft. Since the 1970s, Łódź, Poland—the historical site of a significant textile industry—has been the home for a triennial exhibition of fiber-related work by almost 150 artists from over 50 countries. This survey of innovative fiber from across the globe significantly impacts the artists of the host country, as well as those further afield. Polish artists interested in working with fiber are directly presented with new modes of production and a wide range of ideas.
In 2013, RAM acquired a substantial selection of contemporary Polish fiber art. This added to a small sampling of work by artists with Polish heritage already in RAM’s collection, as well as a considerable—and nationally significant—collection of contemporary fiber works including baskets, embroidered and stitched two-dimensional works, sculptural textiles, and large-scale fiber installations.
Nuanced in different ways and affected by various cultural changes, fiber art produced over the last 60 years has reflected artists’ interests in exploring the limits of materials, challenging technique and construction, reflecting social and personal issues, and expanding the definition of what fiber art means today.
On display at RAM
Thank you to the the Walter S. Smolenski, Jr. and Sr. Polish History and Culture Fund within the Racine Community Foundation for largely funding research and exhibition of Polish Fiber at RAM.
Grażyna Brylewska-Pędziałek
Grażyna Brylewska-Pędzialek’s piece Great Grandmother Emmy’s Shawl and Mine links the artist to her family and blends past and present as she encases fiber fragments in plastic. Brylewska-Pędzialek often blends photographic imagery with textiles in works that speak to personal, social, and cultural issues. She frequently replicates her own image, as in the work By Myself Alone. A triple self-portrait of sorts, this provocative piece is an examination of artist as maker and subject as well as a reflection of image, illusion, and memory.
Grażyna Brylewska-Pędziałek
Sam na Sam (By Myself Alone), 1991
Dyed wool and thread
8 x 8 x 1/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jon Bolton
Grażyna Brylewska-Pędziałek
Taniec Życia – Drug Cykl (Dance of Life II – Second Cycle), 1992
Dyed wool and linen
7 3/4 x 7 3/4 x 1/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Grażyna Brylewska-Pędziałek
Szal Prababki Emmy I Mój (Great Grandmother Emmy’s Shawl and Mine), ca. 1995
Antique lace, dyed cotton thread, plastic, and metal
77 x 12 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Maria Teresa Chojnacka
Reflecting the drive for innovation, Maria Teresa Chojnacka has embroidered the date and material on the back of each of her small-scale works. In the same spot, she also reaffirms her artistic identity and her technical experimentation as she emphasizes via text that the wool weavings were created with her “own technique.”
Maria Teresa Chojnacka
Untitled No. 1076, 1986
Wool and jute
7 x 7 x 1/2 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Maria Teresa Chojnacka
Untitled No. 1075, 1988
Wool and jute
7 x 7 x 1/2 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Maria Teresa Chojnacka
Untitled No. 1115, ca. 1990
Dyed wool and cotton
8 x 8 x 1/8 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Maria Teresa Chojnacka
Untitled No. 1109, ca. 1990
Dyed wool and cotton
8 x 8 x 1/8 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Maria Teresa Chojnacka
No. 1138 Brama Nieba (No. 1138 The Gate to Heaven), 1989
Cotton and wool
7 1/2 x 7 1/4 x 1/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Maria Teresa Chojnacka
No. 1139 Brama Piekła (No. 1139 The Gate to Hell), 1989
Dyed cotton and dyed wool
7 1/2 x 8 x 1/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Maria Teresa Chojnacka
1175/4 Zamieszanie (1175/4 Confusion), 1992
Jute and acrylic
5 x 3 1/2 x 1/8 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Maria Teresa Chojnacka
Untitled No. 1074, 1986
Dyed wool and jute
8 x 8 x 1 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Włodzimierz Cygan
Włodzimierz Cygan
Struktura (Structure), ca. 2000
Linen thread
13 3/4 x 13 1/2 x 1 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Emilia Cecylia Domańska
Emilia Cecylia Domańska
Bez Tytulu (Untitled), 1989
Dyed wool, hemp, and found sewing needle
4 x 3 x 1/8 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Maria Domańska
Maria Domańska
Untitled, ca. 1970
Dyed wool
30 x 75 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Agatha Elmes
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Kazimiera Frymark-Błaszczyk
Kazimiera Frymark-Błaszczyk
KFB 99, 1990
Lace
8 x 7 3/4 x 1/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Kazimiera Frymark-Błaszczyk
KFB 91, 1990
Goose quills and jute
8 x 7 1/2 x 1/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Kazimiera Frymark-Błaszczyk
KFB-77, 1989
Poliamid
7 7/8 x 7 7/8 x 1/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Drs. Judith and Martin Bloomfield
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Barbara Gałan
Barbara Galan
Lniana Tablica (The Flaxboard), ca. 1990
Linen and flax
53 1/2 x 54 x 1 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Barbara Galan
Pochopna Dziewica (Hasty Virgin), 1986
Linen and flax
6 x 6 x 1/2 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Anna Goebel
Anna Goebel
Ulga (Relief V), 1991
Paper
7 3/4 x 7 3/4 x 1/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Margaret Handwerker
Margaret Handwerker
Purple Apples, 2002
Hand-dyed wool and linen
47 1/2 x 64 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Judy Bain and Marilyn Ziering
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Bozena Kaluga
Bozena Kaluga
Urokliwa (Charming), 1990
Dyed cotton netting and embossed paper
8 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Janusz Kozikowski
Janusz Kozikowski
Chief Kimono on Beige, 1984
Dyed wool
40 1/2 x 39 x 1/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Larry and Mickey Magid
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Lilla Kulka
Lilla Kulka was a painter and student of Magdalena Abakanowicz—one of the most influential artists of postwar Poland—and directly felt her influence. Kulka’s compositions, such as the silhouetted form of Na Ścieżce (On the Path V), sometimes combine the shading and rendering techniques of painting with the textural properties of cotton and thread.
Lilla Kulka
Na Ścieżce (On the Path V), 2001
Dyed cotton, synthetic thread, and netting
13 1/4 x 15 1/4 x 1/2 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jon Bolton
Aleksandra Mańczak
Aleksandra Mańczak
Study for Zarnowiec (Herbarium) Zycie po Zyciu (Life After Life), 1991
Handmade paper
8 x 8 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Aleksandra Mańczak
Żarnowiec (Herbarium), 1988
Handmade paper, found twigs, and string
75 x 35 x 1 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Andrzej Rajch
Andrzej Rajch
Gracje (Graces) AR 43, 2007
Dyed cotton, canvas, and dyed cotton thread
5 x 5 3/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Andrzej Rajch
Gracje (Graces), 1993
Dyed cotton and embroidery floss
7 1/2 x 5 x 7/8 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Andrzej Rajch
Las (Forest), 2007
Dyed wool
49 1/8 x 62 1/2 x 1 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Andrzej Rajch
Fale (Waves), 2002
Dyed wool
65 x 68 x 1/2 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jon Bolton
Andrzej Rajch
Graces A, 1992
Dyed wool
49 x 64 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Andrzej Rajch
Bieżnik (Table Runner), ca. 2000
Dyed wool
67 x 19 x 1/2 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Jolanta Owidzka
Jolanta Owidzka
Marmaris, 2006
Dyed wool. dyed cotton, wood, and nails
8 3/4 x 14 1/2 x 1/8 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Jolanta Rudzka-Habisiak
Jolanta Rudzka-Habisiak
Bez Tytulu (Untitled), 1995
Dyed leather
24 3/4 x 23 1/4 x 1/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Jolanta Rudzka-Habisiak
Lotne Piaski (Quicksand), 1991
Dyed leather
10 3/8 x 9 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Jolanta Rudzka-Habisiak
Bez Tytulu (Untitled), 1991
Dyed leather
5 3/16 x 5 3/8 x 1 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Jolanta Rudzka-Habisiak
Brokatowy Kwadrat Dywanu (Glitter Carpet Square), ca. 2000
Found carpet square, felt, and found rhinestones
11 1/4 x 11 5/8 x 2 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Jolanta Rudzka-Habisiak
Brązowa Poduszka (Brown Pillow), ca. 1995
Dyed leather
9 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 4 3/4 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Jolanta Rudzka-Habisiak
Wlochaty (Hairy), 1998
Dyed linen
6 x 6 1/4 inches diameter
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Jolanta Rudzka-Habisiak
Czerwona Papryka (Red Pepper), ca. 2000
Dyed suede
6 3/8 x 5 1/2 x 7 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jarvis Lawson
Jolanta Rudzka-Habisiak
Anioł Nadziei (Angel of Hope), 2001
Paper, wood, and thread
11 x 7 x 6 7/8 inches
Racine Art Museum, Gift of Camille and Alex Cook
Photography: Jon Bolton
Antoni Starczewski
