“A Turning Point: Navajo Weaving in the Late 20th Century” will be on view from October 1 through November 30, 2010, at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Lincoln. The exhibition will be hosted by the Heard Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, from February 6 through March 2011. To read more, click here.

Gloria F. Ross & Modern Tapestry

Ann Lane Hedlund, with a foreword by Grace Glueck

Yale University Press, in association with Arizona State Museum

Expected publication date: November 2010

To pre-order your own copy and to see more details, click here.

This beautiful book illuminates the ambitious career of Gloria F. Ross, a renowned editeur of tapestries who collaborated with many leading modern artists and weaving studios during the late twentieth century.

Gloria F. Ross (1923-1998) described her work as the translation of paint into wool. She was deeply committed to reinventing the centuries-old art of tapestry, particularly championing the handmade in contemporary art. This remarkable book, written by textile scholar Ann Lane Hedlund, draws from rare unpublished archives to unravel the evolution of Ross’s modern tapestries and to illuminate the significance of her creative partnerships.

Gloria F. Ross and Modern Tapestry features the collaborative work of twenty-eight acclaimed modernist painters and sculptors, including Helen Frankenthaler (Ross’s sister), Kenneth Noland, and Louise Nevelson, with several dozen traditional-yet-innovative weavers in France, Scotland, and the Southwestern United States. Brief biographies of the artists, letters, notes, sketches, and photographs illustrate the practical and aesthetic challenges that occupied Gloria Ross for over three decades.

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Ann Lane Hedlund is curator of ethnology at the Arizona State Museum and professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona, Tucson. She directs the University’s Gloria F. Ross Tapestry Program. Before “retiring,” Grace Glueck was an art reporter, editor, and critic in The New York Times Cultural News Department for more than three decades.

The GFR Center for Tapestry Studies, Inc., has recently transformed into the newly formed Gloria F. Ross Tapestry Program at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Our staff energies and activities remain strong. The Center’s corporate assets have been transferred to the University of Arizona Foundation on behalf of this new entity, now an integral part of the University and still located on campus in the Arizona State Museum (ASM). This required detailed and protective legal arrangements with the New York State Attorney General, the Arizona Corporation Commission, the University’s Board of Regents, and the GFR Center’s Board of Trustees.

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The mission of the new GFR Tapestry Program remains identical to that of the original Center: to foster the creative practice and cultural study of tapestry, handwoven worldwide from ancient to modern times. The GFR Tapestry Program remains devoted to research and public programming,” says program director Ann Hedlund.

We extend our deep appreciation to the Gloria F. Ross Foundation in New York, for its sustaining support over the past twelve years. We are grateful to GFR Center’s former Board of Trustees, who worked through the process of corporate dissolution and who were always ready to remind us of our most important goals—to continue sharing the wonderful world of textiles with as many people as possible. Thank you to Alice Zrebiec, Ramona Sakiestewa, Susan Brown McGreevy, and Margi Fox, outgoing (and outstanding!) trustees. Thanks also to Ann Bookman, Archie Brennan, Helena Hernmarck, Hal Einhorn, Lotus Stack, and Sue Walker, who were extremely helpful and encouraging during previous board terms. We are very grateful to our past Associates, who supported our many programs through their membership during the past twelve years.

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In the meantime, our five-year project to produce a major book, Gloria F. Ross & Modern Tapestry, is in the design phase. The 376-page book with many brilliant color illustrations will be available from Yale University Press in autumn 2010; see their online catalogue. Watch for more about this soon!

Illustration: Arizona State Museum, 2010. Photo by Dennis Nendza.

Curated by Anna Byrd Mays, the American Tapestry Alliance presents an online gallery of many tapestries by Archie Brennan, along with essays that provide fresh insights into his work.

See this retrospective exhibition of impressive work at
http://www.americantapestryalliance.org/Exhibitions/WebExh.html.

AN ILLUSTRATED LECTURE by Alice Zrebiec, sponsored by the Stark Museum of Art

TITLE: “Making Tapestry an American Art: The Legacy of Lorentz Kleiser.”

WHEN:  Friday, January 22, 2010, 6:30 p.m.

Originally inspired by European masterpieces, artist Lorentz Kleiser (1879-1963) turned to American literature, history, flora and fauna as subjects for tapestries designed for public buildings as well as private homes. Founder of the Edgewater Tapestry Looms in New Jersey, Kleiser was instrumental in introducing tapestry to the general public both through his work and his nationwide lectures.”

WHERE: Lutcher Theater, 707 Main Street, Orange, Texas 77630

Followed by Reception at the Stark Museum of Art

712 Green Avenue, Orange, Texas 77630

IN ASSOCIATION WITH the current exhibition:

“Entwined across the Ages: Illuminated Manuscripts and Tapestries”

November 21, 2009 January 30, 2010

This holiday-season exhibition features the Stark Museum of Arts collection of medieval illuminated manuscripts exhibited within a setting of twentieth-century wall tapestries that were inspired by arts from the medieval period. Entwined across the Ages highlights the variety and richness of manuscript illustrations in the Books of Hours and includes images of the Christmas story. It also reveals how the medieval arts influenced artist Lorentz Kleiser whose Edgewater Tapestry Company revived the art of tapestry weaving in the modern era.”

The Gloria F. Ross Center for Tapestry Studies announces a series of lectures at the first annual SOFA WEST (SCULPTURE OBJECTS FUNCTIONAL ART) expo held in Santa Fe, NM, on June 11-14, 2009.

Critically acclaimed, gallery-presented SOFA events focus on 3-dimensional artworks that cross the boundaries of fine art, decorative art and design. With a strong educational emphasis, SOFA fairs include a lecture series and special exhibits featuring both established and emerging artists.” SOFA WEBSITE

In addition to an elite line-up of over forty art dealers, special textile-related lectures will include:

• ALICE ZREBIEC on the work of Colombian fiber artist/sculptor Olga de Amaral (Thursday, June 11, 2:30 pm)
• ANN LANE HEDLUND on emerging trends in Native Southwest weaving (Friday, June 12, 2:30 pm)
• SUE WALKER on contemporary Australian tapestries (Saturday, June 13, 2:30 pm)
• LOTUS STACK will give a special textile curator’s walkthrough (Friday, June 12, 1:00 pm)
• Other lectures and events will also be announced.

Events take place at the Santa Fe Convention Center, with proceeds from the Opening Night Gala benefiting the New Mexico Museum of Art’s Design Collection. Current GFR Tapestry Center members will receive tickets to the 4-day expo (a $25 value); members at the $100+ levels will also receive VIP invitations to the Opening Night GALA Preview & Reception on June 10 and SOFA VIP events during the fair. La Fonda hotel is holding a block of sleeping rooms (800-523-5002, mention the Tapestry Center to receive special event rates). For more information, visit www.sofaexpo.com and www.tapestrycenter.org or call the Tapestry Center at 520-626-8364.

Illustration: Detail of tapestry in process, “Home of Snake in Waterhole,” designed by Yala Yala Gibbs, woven at Victorian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne, Australia, 1980″ (Photo courtesy of Sue Walker, Victorian Tapestry Workshop).

This year, we’re teaming up with the organizers of SOFA (Sculpture Objects Functional Art) when they bring one of the world’s foremost art expositions to Santa Fe, New Mexico, on June 11-14. 2009. Our goal is to share the wonders of tapestry with collectors, artists and gallery staff who might not already consider the artful medium of tapestry. Watch for further announcements about special tapestry-related lectures and conversations-with-curators sponsored by the Gloria F. Ross Tapestry Center during the SOFA-WEST expo.

Current Tapestry Center members may request free tickets for the four-day event to be held at the new Santa Fe Convention Center. Members joining or renewing at $100 or higher levels may request free VIP invitations for the gala opening on June 10 (7 - 9 pm), and for other receptions, tours and special events. If you are interested in these special member benefits, just click here and contact us.

Historic La Fonda hotel  is holding a block of sleeping rooms. Call 800-523-5002 and mention “The Tapestry Center” to receive special event rates.

Illustration: Santa Fe Convention Center, New Mexico.

Whether you’re a collector looking for the next hot trend, an artist exploring a fabulous flexible medium, or a weaver seeking a challenging new technique, TAPESTRY HAS IT ALL. To explore more about what “tapestry” is and looks like - click here

Illustration: Tapestry showroom, Robert Four Gallery, Paris.

Members take part in our programs and support all of our activities.

This year, new and renewing members will receive special invitations to join us at SOFA WEST in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on June 11-14, 2009. SOFA stands for “Sculpture Objects Functional Art” and most definitely includes tapestries and other textiles! Upon request, current Tapestry Center members will receive special entrance tickets to the exposition for all four days (a $25 value); members joining at the $100 level or higher can also receive free VIP invitations to the opening gala on June 10, plus receptions, tours and other special events.

For more about our membership program and an application form, click here.

Illustration: Volunteer Olga Neuts assisting a visitor at the guest loom, “Learn About Weaving!” area sponsored by the GFR Tapestry Center, Southwest Indian Art Fair, Arizona State Museum, Tucson.

We are pleased to announce that Ramona Sakiestewa has been elected to the Tapestry Center’s board and Helena Hernmarck has become a trustee emerita. Both are superb tapestry weavers.”

Following its June 2008 annual meeting in Tucson, the Gloria F. Ross Center for Tapestry Studies welcomed Ramona Sakiestewa (Santa Fe, NM) as the newest member of its Board of Trustees. A widely known weaver, multimedia artist and museum design consultant, she joins trustees Alice Zrebiec (president; Santa Fe, NM), Darienne Dennis (secretary; New York, NY), Margi Fox (treasurer; Bellingham, WA), Susan Brown McGreevy (Santa Fe, NM), Lotus Stack (Minneapolis, MN), and Sue Walker (Melbourne, Australia). For more about these individuals, click this link: Board of Trustees.

Illustration: Tapestry by Ramona Sakiestewa, from the “Migration” series. (Photo courtesy of the artist).

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After completing a term on the board, artist and weaver Helena Hernmarck (Ridgefield, CT) now has an honorary appointment as trustee emerita with the GFR Center. Anthropologist Ann Bookman (Boston, MA) and tapestry weaver Archie Brennan (New York, NY) also hold emeritus status.

The Tapestry Center and its board members champion tapestry-related interests, coming from the disciplines of anthropology, art history, and studio art. Trustees have backgrounds in the art, museum, financial and business worlds and provide invaluable advice and guidance.

Illustration: Tapestry by Helena Hernmarck, “Crumpled Paper.” (Photo courtesy of Brown Grotta Arts).