Mourning
<p>Olszewski's textile constructions, for the most part, evoke emotional turnoil resulting from his life, such as the deaths of parents and friends and his long-term struggle with personal identity. The works in this group were made from 1989 to 2012, and there is a remarkable consistency of purpose and focus among them, despite technical adjustments made over time. <em>Mourning</em>, the earliest in the group, acknowledges the toll taken by the declining health of the artist's father, who died a few years after the work was created. In Olszewski's language of symbols, the curved motif evokes an emotional would and the horizontal stripes suggest the lines of the journal kept by the artist.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1989
- Dimensions
- 52.4 × 71.8 × 0.7 cm (20 5/8 × 28 1/4 × 1/4 in.); 74.5 × 94.2 × 5.3 cm (29 5/16 × 37 1/16 × 2 1/16 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Michael Olszewski
Artist
Mixed Media
Michael Olszewski is an American mixed-media artist born in 1950.
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Evidence
2008 · cotton and paper, interlooping (crochet and crochet variations); embroidered with silk and paper, cotton, mercerized cotton, ramie and nylon in variations on long and short stitches and some knotting; leather and ramie in laid work and couching; metal (aluminum?) wrapped with silk and paper secured to the surface with adhesive; blocked; lined with silk, plain weave
The Clearing
2008 · Silk and paper, crochet and crochet variations; appliquéd with silk, plain weaves, some printed, dyed, hole-punched, and discharge dyed and appliquéd with silk, ribbon; embroidered with silk; metal wire wrapped with silk; blocked
Fields
2004 · Two panels: linen, cotton, silk, nylon, polyester, leaf fiber (probably abaca), wool, ramie, synthetic foam, and paper; crochet variations, running stitches and knotting; blocked
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Michael Olszewski
- Year
- 1989
- Dimensions
- 52.4 × 71.8 × 0.7 cm (20 5/8 × 28 1/4 × 1/4 in.); 74.5 × 94.2 × 5.3 cm (29 5/16 × 37 1/16 × 2 1/16 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1989-023253
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified