Sometimes I like an artist’s work because it gives me new ideas, allows me to see things in a different way or just inspires me. I have loved the Hungarian artist Eszter Bornemisza’s contemporary fiber artwork for years. I find her work beautiful and elegant despite the torn, worn materials that she uses. There are also many overlaps in our work. Although I don’t know this artist personally, I feel an affinity for her work and evolution.
Like me, Eszter uses recycled materials. I always appreciate this in an artist’s practice. I think it makes good sense in our crumbling world. She is masterful in her use of shredded newspapers that are overprinted. Many of her newer pieces are ephemeral, semi-transparent or layered.
We also share a passion for maps. Eszter uses maps of urban areas as the foundation for her work. They refer to both current and historical places and she considers “a city’s street network like its skeleton.” For Eszter, maps also provide “a visual metaphor for a journey to find her own identity…”
Both of us made art quilts before morphing into larger scale installations. Her maps give the work a grid-like structure familiar in textile-based artwork. However, she breaks the grid and uses it to liberate her elegiac pieces. We have also both explored using women’s clothing as a format.
Eszter is a member of the prestigious 62 Group based in the UK. This artist-run organization curates primarily fiber art exhibitions throughout Europe. We have been in many of the same textile exhibitions in the US and Mexico over the years. I hope that someday our paths will cross.
Resources:
http://www.62group.org.uk/artist/eszter-bornemisza/
His work defies categorization and lives somewhere between painting, sculpture and fiber. Like many artists working on a large scale, he employs dozens of studio helpers to fabricate the work. While there are some who question artists who use the labor of others in the construction of their work, this is now a common studio practice, especially for artists working on a massive scale. Here in Mexico, I employ six local Mexican women in the fabrication of my feathers and in the silk-screening process.
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