An exhibit of Los Angeles artist June Wayne’s Narrative Tapestries “Tidal Waves, DNA, and the Cosmos” will open the newly refurbished Textile Galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago on November 3, 2010.
A pioneer in the revival of lithography during the early 1960s, Wayne has been a major figure in the national and international art scene for decades. This exhibit brings together 11 dynamic tapestries inspired by Wayne’s innovative graphic designs and woven between 1970 and 1974. These works showcase not only Wayne’s unique vision but also the rich possibilities of uniting contemporary ideas with a centuries-old medium.
Known as the founder of the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles, Wayne turned to tapestry in the early 1970s after a friend and leading tapestry scholar introduced her to some of Paris’s most revered weaving Ateliers. Wayne embarked on her four-year tapestry project, involving herself intimately with each and every aspect of the process. From adapting and reworking full-scale cartoons of her lithographs to selecting the precise shading of colors and thickness of the yarns to checking the weavers’ progress weekly, Wayne took a very hands-on approach to seeing that her designs were carried out precisely to her wishes. On December 4, 1974, her tapestries were unveiled to great success at the noted Galerie la Demeure in Paris. Eleven of these works are reunited in this exhibition at the Art Institute.
