Roussée, 1970/80

Sisal
Photo by Pratik Parulekar

Hailed the godmother of installation art, Magdalena Abakanowicz is best known for her freestanding, monumental woven sculptures of the 1960s—the “Abakans”—that draw upon her childhood memories, including the traumas of the Second World War. They are made with dyed sisal that she unraveled from discarded ships’ ropes. While living in Poland under the Communist regime, she dedicated herself fully to becoming an international artist and crossed the Iron Curtain hundreds of times to mount exhibitions that brought raw, natural fibers to the attention of the art world. In doing so, Abakanowicz undermined previous notions of textiles as merely a utilitarian craft while adding to a long tradition of fiber art in Eastern Europe. Her smaller yet still iconic sculptural reliefs, such as Roussée, which are also rendered in red sisal threads, exude a tender and vulnerable sensuality. Her consistent use of red evokes existential themes of suffering and violence, the broader historical context of war and displacement, and the symbolic color of socialism. This can make her work feel especially timely today.