Lenore Tawney
Cloud Labyrinth, 1983
Canvas, hand knotted linen thread
487 x 731 x 548 cm, 191 3/4 x 287 3/4 x 215 3/4 ins
© Lenore G. Tawney Foundation
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'Cloud Labyrinth' was created for the Lausanne Biennial in 1983. The canvas is 24 x 18 feet, and the threads are 16 feet in height. It was later shown at...
'Cloud Labyrinth' was created for the Lausanne Biennial in 1983. The canvas is 24 x 18 feet, and the threads are 16 feet in height. It was later shown at the University of the Arts during the International Sculpture Conference in Philadelphia in 1992. In 1999, it was shown at Bank of America Plaza in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it was most recently included in the John Michael Kohler Arts Center's 2019/2020 retrospective, 'Lenore Tawney: Mirror of the Universe'.
The 'Cloud' series moved beyond weaving altogether. These works are not woven and Tawney described them as: "vertical weavings in volume" and "weavings without weaving." In this series, she retained thread as her primary material but abandoned the loom, creating installations that are simultaneously drawing, sculpture, and architecture. In her 'Clouds', Tawney treats space itself as the medium, demonstrating how simple materials—linen thread, light, and air—can evoke profound experiences of presence, stillness, and transcendence.
Each sculpture began with a painted canvas canopy suspended from the ceiling. Tawney then drew a precise grid on the canvas and, at every intersection, pulled a single linen thread through the support and secured it with a knot. Thousands of threads—sometimes 2,000 to 4,000—cascade vertically into space, creating a dense yet transparent curtain. The works rely on hand-knotted linen thread, carefully measured spacing, natural light and shadows and the viewer's movement around the installation. Rather than presenting a solid object, the sculptures change continuously as one walks around them, with the hanging threads appearing alternately dense, transparent, or almost invisible.
"Cloud Labyrinth" is one of the most colourful works from the 'Cloud" series. Other works from this series reside in museum collections including "The Bride Has Entered" at the Art Institute of Chicago; "Box of Falling Stars" and an untitled 'Cloud' at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C; "Written in Water" at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center Collection, Wisconsin.
The 'Cloud' series moved beyond weaving altogether. These works are not woven and Tawney described them as: "vertical weavings in volume" and "weavings without weaving." In this series, she retained thread as her primary material but abandoned the loom, creating installations that are simultaneously drawing, sculpture, and architecture. In her 'Clouds', Tawney treats space itself as the medium, demonstrating how simple materials—linen thread, light, and air—can evoke profound experiences of presence, stillness, and transcendence.
Each sculpture began with a painted canvas canopy suspended from the ceiling. Tawney then drew a precise grid on the canvas and, at every intersection, pulled a single linen thread through the support and secured it with a knot. Thousands of threads—sometimes 2,000 to 4,000—cascade vertically into space, creating a dense yet transparent curtain. The works rely on hand-knotted linen thread, carefully measured spacing, natural light and shadows and the viewer's movement around the installation. Rather than presenting a solid object, the sculptures change continuously as one walks around them, with the hanging threads appearing alternately dense, transparent, or almost invisible.
"Cloud Labyrinth" is one of the most colourful works from the 'Cloud" series. Other works from this series reside in museum collections including "The Bride Has Entered" at the Art Institute of Chicago; "Box of Falling Stars" and an untitled 'Cloud' at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C; "Written in Water" at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center Collection, Wisconsin.
Provenance
The ArtistThe Lenore G. Tawney Foundation, New York, US
Exhibitions
Lenore Tawney: Mirror of the Universe, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI, US, 18 August 2019 - 19 January 2020Bank of America Plaza, Charlotte, NC, US, 1999
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, 1992
Lausanne International Tapestry Biennale, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1983