Jessica Gerschultz’s idea to write a transregional history of modern fiber art arose from a sensorial encounter with an unintended archive of artists' dossiers. Housed in the rejection section of the archives of the Lausanne International Tapestry Biennales, the dossiers contain rare records of women who experimented with the textures, pliability, and poetics of tapestry and soft sculpture. Artists active in Casablanca, Cairo, Tunis, Beirut, and other modernist hubs initiated important yet unstudied exchanges, while others based in agricultural and mountainous regions upend notions of modern art as an urban phenomenon. Approaching the medium technically and conceptually, they engaged with woven and hand-manipulated material, forged links in transnational networks, and created ateliers that were critical feminine spaces. What shared visions and experiences drew these artists to fiber art, an often feminized medium replete with metaphoric and political dimensions? This presentation queries how an archive of rejected artist dossiers not only disrupts enduring art historical paradigms, but also illuminates unforeseen relationships and methodological insight.

Speaker
Jessica Gerschultz, Senior Humanities Research Fellow, NYUAD

Moderated by
Tina Sherwell, Director of Masters in Fine Arts; Visiting Assistant Professor of Art and Art History, NYUAD

In Person (NYUAD Campus) and on Zoom

The seminar is open to the NYUAD community and by invitation. Registration has closed.