Brit Micho, Curator of Exhibitions
This month’s now on view post is taking a detour from our typical content. As I was in the galleries looking at the wonderful works we have on display, I was most struck by the variety of texture throughout the spaces. Highlighting the different processes, this post will dissect the various textures that caught my eye.
In gallery 1, we have Weaving the Narrative: The works of Dinh Q. Lê which displays two different mediums: his photo-weavings and his hand-embroidered linen. Lê was a Vietnamese-American artist known for his large-scale photo-weavings that examine the conflicting international narratives of the Vietnam War (1955-1975) and the Cambodian Genocide (1975-1979).
Differing from his typical photo-weaving are his hand-embroidered linen series titled the Texture of Memory. In short, Lê embroidered portraits of men, women, and children who were interrogated and murdered in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge. In the aftermath of these atrocities, Cambodian refugees reported blindness as a neurological response to post-traumatic stress. Lê honored these refugees through the Texture of Memory series, intending these works to be touched in order to “see” the image, similar to reading braille.
This work of art not only interacts with viewers’ visual analysis, but it includes a physical analysis as well–actually being able to touch the texture, not often found in museums. If we look at the detailed image, we can see that there is white embroidery thread on white linen canvas. The monochromatic color scheme and overlapping outlines of the figures create a nearly indistinguishable abstract composition emboldened only by the shadows under the embroidery.
The simple choice of the artist’s medium in this series pulls the pieces together through their contrasting textures. Looking closely at the embroidered thread, we see that it is a glossy, silky texture that catches the light, resulting in a highlighted thread that deepens the shadows underneath. In contrast to the silky thread, Lê uses a matte linen canvas as the background, underscoring the contrast between the textures despite their monochrome coloring. This work challenges the viewer’s attention to detail in how the pieces interact with light, line, texture, and touch.
Exhibited in gallery 2 is an installation of work from Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg titled From Antiquity to the Inevitable that explores their body of work from 2015-2025. These installations celebrate themes from antiquity to the unpredictable, quirky, and more mysterious realities of our own times, connecting both to the past and an unfathomable future. Whether interpreted as a whole or individually, each piece connects humanity to its shortcomings, aspirations, and questions about our place in the universe.
The works in Species Novae are a true expression of both Italian Incalmo blowing techniques, used to fuse separate components, and the artists’ signature motif, Italian Battuto cutting techniques. These sculptures are both whimsical and celebratory of glassblowing, but also seek to address the search for balance between society and the individual, expressed in groupings that retain their individuality of form.
The Battuto cutting technique, used by Murano glass makers during the 1930s, is integral to Baldwin and Guggisberg’s work as this allows them to achieve a variety of surface level and deep cut textures with glass. Using a grinding wheel to mark the surface, the patterns created often resemble hammered metal, which we can see most clearly in the first and second detail images. However, the samplings of textures do not stop there. Another detail shows a striped sphere with smooth bands, in contrast to the adjacent red bulb, whose surface is filled with small pyramid-shaped studs jutting out of the deep, seemingly erratic scratches. Upon closer inspection, we can notice small irregularities in the ridged bands of glass, suggesting hand-carved lines. The texture is nearly tangible in the minds-eye.
(R) Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg American, b. 1947; Swiss, b. 1955, Destination Unknown Series, Red Right Returning 2021, blown, under- and overlay, and cut glass, stones, wood, metal. Loan from the Artists. Images courtesy of FWMoA.
Baldwin and Guggisberg also implement a technique called Swedish Overlay (and underlay) which is a process in which two separate bubbles of glass on separate blowpipes are joined together and one is turned inside out over the other. That means, when the glass is cold worked with the Battuto cutting, layers of the colored glass are revealed as the layers deepen, evident in the provided detail images. On the left we notice a texturing that uncovers three separate colors which resembles the pattern of a bug-eaten leaf or a topographical coastline map. The texture we notice on the right is more similar to the beaten-metal texture, however the Swedish Overlay and varying sizes give it a differing textural impression resembling tight-knit craters like we might see on the moon.
The last type of texture noticeable in Baldwin and Guggisberg’s installation is indistinct from the other textures—some might say there is none. However, when we look closely at the glass, we notice there are very fine sanding marks on the surface of the glass, allowing the surface to be matte rather than a typical shiny finish. This detail, while small, is an important part of the artist’s attention to detail and artistic vision in glass. The play of light and shadows on the glass surfaces unveils a captivating visual harmony and composition that invites viewers to explore not just their attention to detail, but their attention to texture.
To see Weaving the Narrative: The works of Dinh Q. Lê visit FWMoA by September 28th. The works of Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg will be on display through November 16th.