Artworks
Jolanta Rudzka Habisiak
Infinity
2020, own technique, jaquard cards, leather, 350 elements,
304 x 300 cm
INFINITY is a tribute to Joseph Marie Jacquard, a French weaver and inventor. At the beginning of the 19th century, he constructed a multi-colored machine for weaving intricate patterns, known today as the Jacquard machine. Patterns were applied to perforated cards, controlling the lifting of the warp threads (creating a shed). The holes in the appropriate places of the card guided the hooks selecting the warp threads in the appropriate color for a given pattern on the fabric.
Jacquard cards made of pressboard and perforated with holes with a diameter of 5 mm became the canvas for the creation of INFINITY.
More than 80,000 knots made of strips of leather and woven through the holes of 350 cards, almost tightly cover the surface of 7 panels, joined together with dimensions of 300 x 300 cm.
Each of the 7 panels consists of 50 cards bonded to a wool felt base. The card joining system is the same as that used in the case of joining jacquard cards on a loom, by sewing into stripes, topstitching with a strong string.
The cards are filled with knots made of leather in various, pastel colors.
The long, tedious process of realizing this tactile, structural surface could be compared to the process of meditation and spiritual purification.
Jolanta Rudzka Habisiak
studied at the Władysław Strzemiński State Higher School of Fine Arts in Łódź (today Academy of Fine Arts Władysław Strzemiński), where in 1985 she obtained a diploma at the Unique Fabrics Studio. Currently, she is a professor (since 2005), head of the Interior Facility Laboratory, Carpet and tapestry at the alma mater. She served as rector of the Academy in 2012-2020
She creates objects and installations, deals with fabric art, designing carpets, but also activities based on artistic graphics and authoring techniques.
She has participated in over 200 collective exhibitions - Polish and international; had over 40 individual exhibitions in home and abroad.
She is a laureate of prestigious awards, including: Excellence Award, 1987, InternationalTextile Competition, Kyoto, Japan; 1st prize of the Minister of Culture and Art - 4th National Exhibition of Polish Fabrics, Łódź; Gold Medal 1992 - 7th International Triennial of Tapestry, Central Museum of Textiles, Łódź; 1998 Silver Medal and Medal of the Central Museum of Textiles, Łódź - 9th International Triennial Fabrics, Central Museum of Textiles, Łódź; Grand Prix 2001 - 5th International Baltic Triennial Miniature Fabric in Gdynia; Special Award 2013 -14. International Triennial of Tapestry, Central Textile Museum, Łódź, 2019 - Ab Ovo exhibition - Award of the President of the City of Łódź for the best cultural event in 2018. Honorable Mention for Infinity's work on Bi-Annual International Fiber Art “FIBER ARTS X”, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA, USA.