Textiles (1956–88)

Gego’s interest in the concept and act of weaving permeated her artistic language. In the 1940s, after immigrating from Germany to Venezuela, Gego opened up a workshop to design furniture, lamps, and rugs, among other things. At different moments during the 1970s and 1980s, she experimented again with rug designs and textiles that feature intricate woven patterns.

The works on view in this section represent a return to the applied arts. In particular, Gego’s large-scale, hanging untitled tapestry created circa 1987, which is an exemplary work of the time. The textile consists of interlaced cords of synthetic fiber that run across the composition in parallel and loop at opposite ends, yielding a woven surface that is, at intervals, translucent. The wall-hung work exemplifies Gego’s use of linear elements, here in rope form, to generate abstract patterning. Also presented alongside this work are small-scale examples of the artist’s threaded fabrics.