The Yoors Tapestries                                 images   events

Seldom does one encounter works of such timeless power and presence as the famous Yoors tapestries. Created from specially dyed Persian wool and hand-knotted by his wives, Annebert and Marianne - expert craftspeople and artists in their own right - these extraordinary, monumental objects of beauty and feeling baffle the imagination.

Jan Yoors (1922-1977) was an incredible man who fully participated in the events of his time. His life, which spans the 20th century's most salient decades, reads like a novel from start to finish. In his native Belgium, this son of a stained glass artist ran away with the gypsies at age twelve, fought the Nazis during World War II , escaped execution, established himself as a prominent artist in New York during the 50's and 60's, and single-handedly revived the ancient art form of tapestry weaving into an important medium of abstract expressionism.

The tapestries in this exhibition represent some of Jan's latest and most mature works. Whereas his early works concern themselves with the psychological implications of his early life in an imagistic and even narrative way, the present works are examples of his most sophisticated creative impulses. After he had freed himself from the restraints of pictorial representation, Yoors began designing tapestries for emotional impact on a fundamentally visceral and tactile, as well as a purely visual level. Many works in this exhibition are part of his 'Tantra' series, an appropriate metaphor for these potent visual experiences.

For inspiration and starting points for his abstractions, Yoors often collected examples and fragments of visual interest to him - partially deteriorated painted surfaces, pictures of natural phenomena, and the interaction of nature and culture where the abstract qualities of unintended juxtapositions bore some emotional - even spiritual - content. Some of these 'feelings' would find their way into designs of the tapestries currently on view. Some of the dripping, scratching, piercing forms and undulating lines in these monumental tapestries have their origins in the tiniest fragments of the visual world.

Jan was also a colorist of the most sublime degree - fretting over the slightest variation of color imaginable. He was keenly conscious of the emotional load color could carry and he specifically determined the most subtle shades, tones, and hues for his work.

Finally, the scale of the works needs pointing out since any reproduction does not, by nature, give an adequate sense of the works' size and visual impact. Although we had enough space 'on paper' to show up to sixteen tapestries, we are only able to exhibit twelve objects. The visual and tactile presence of the works demands some breathing room.

There is no substitute for an actual experience of the Yoors tapestries - come see the show.

Robert Thurmer
Co-curator