Marian Biljenga: drawing with Horsehair

[gius]

MARIAN BIJLENGA:
Drawing with Horsehair

In every work by Dutch fiber artist Marian Bijlenga, many small and similar--but never identical--elements are stitched into a web of invisible nylon thread to create a harmonious whole. Whether a thousand small dots radiating out from a corner point or two hundred curved lines suggesting watery swirls, her work is characterized by repetitive, lacelike elements that float, touching neither each other nor the wall from which they are suspended. The result is serene, orderly, and contemplative work that beautifully expresses Bijlenga's vision of the natural world.
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"I see my work as drawing," says Bijlenga. "I like patterns, and when you work with lines and dots, you see lines and dots everywhere." While her early work often alluded to alphabets and calligraphy, she now takes her inspiration from nature: white fungal dots on tree trunks, the curve of eucalyptus leaves, swirling water eddies. She also recently completed a series of portraits, a departure from her usual abstractions.
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Many of her works convey three-dimensionality using a limited pallette of shapes and colors. All hang precisely one straight-pin's length from the wall and are never hung behind glass, in order to enhance their transparency and shadows, which she considers integral. Some recent works use two colors of dot--one being the "shadow color" of the other--as well as the wall shadows, to create additional depth.​

http://www.fiberarts.com/article_archive/profiles/marianbijlenga.asp
fiberarts
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[gius]

SOFT BRICK
Dutch artist Marian Bijlenga wanted to create a “soft” brick that would support the growth of moss and small plants, and could be used to build vertical gardens. Working with sponges as models, she developed porous bricks that have cavities for water, earth, and roots.

metropolismag

 

[gius]

(large picture)

Sampler Dots (with Red),
2004
Dyed horsehair, fabric
42 x 42
Cervini Haas Gallery/Gallery Materia,
Scottsdale, AZ.

(Multiple oplage 25)
horsehair, cotton,
58 x 58 cm

Zonder titel (untitled), 2001
textielmuseum.nl / sofaexpo

 

[gius]

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UNTITLED
1993
130 x 130 cm
horsehair, cotton, viscose
$2800

detail

fiberscene
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[wheneveriwakeup]

Impressive. Such patience she has!

Thanks for this, Gius.

 

[gius]

The artist
vam.ac.uk

 

[SomethingElse]

Fascinating work. I have a practical question, though - how to handle the dust over time?

I must add that her jacket is very very very cool in the last picture. Thanks for the inspiration and serenity, Gius!

 

[seanutbutter]

I've never seen anything like this. Her work is almost soothing; I feel a bit calmer after looking at them.

 

[gius]

I'm glad you guys like it I noticed her jacket too, SomethingElse! I wonder if she designed/ made it! Her shirt on the inside is interesting too

As for your question, she does say she's using a sort of water-soluble fabric for some of the projects.. This holds together the shapes and if you wash it too much, the adhesive will dissolve and everything might fall apart. I think you can just use a damp cloth to wipe it gently or you can blowdry/feather-dust it I suppose... We have some weavings made of linen in our department; and they're handled the same way. No washing must be done or their natural gum will dissolve and it will lose its strength... It's neat we don't always think about cleaning when it comes to paintings

 

[SomethingElse]

Water soluble should be fine under glass, I guess, and I wonder that she doesn't encase her work even though it looks great just suspended off the wall. I would have used wax, I think, the kind of wax used in horsehair livery like reins, tieropes and halters.

I suspect that oiled fabrics have to breath and don't to do well under glass. Does this sound correct to you, Gius?

 

[gius]

Oh what would you use the wax for? I don't know much about oiled fabrics actually.. I'd like to research more though! I'm hoping to find some books on the history of it and pave the way for finding how to maintain, make it, etc. It might become a paper
At some museums I've been to that have textile collections, many things are kept under glass. I'm guessing it keeps air and people's hands (and all the natural oils, dirt in them) from getting to it, which will make it decompose faster. These are some of the same reasons the Lascaux caves in France were closed off to the public.

But it's interesting you brought up glass! Many fiber artists I've heard don't like seeing their work encased in glass because they feel it takes away from the work. After all it is made of fiber, fabric, thread, etc. all these tactile things which are meant to be touched and you can't do that with glass in the way. I'm thinking Biljenga would rather have her work free in space--keeping it behind glass would prevent it from moving around freely and from making all the transparency and shadows that she says she's after