b'Magdalena AbakanowiczMagdalena Abakanowicz (19302017) studied textile design, then a division of the Faculty of Painting, at the Akademia Sztuk Plastycznych (currently Akademia Sztuk Piknych[AcademyofFineArts])inWarsaw,between 1950 and 1954. The postwar modernist movement in Warsaw shaped her formative years, as she straddled between design and art, and explored abstraction in both painting and weaving. In 1960 she came to the attention of Maria aszkiewicz, a pioneer in weaving, who encouraged her to submit work to the first Biennale internationale de la tapisserie de Lausanne in 1962, providing critical studio space for the undertaking in her modest base-ment which she dubbed the Atelier Exprimental de lUnion des Artistes Polonais. Anna was woven there in August, 1964.By the late 1960s, Abakanowicz became a leader of the New Tapestry movement, which questioned the traditional hierarchies of art, claiming weav-ing to be as valid as painting and sculpture. Her woven and fiber sculptures, at times assembled in situations to emphasize their ability to set a stage where viewers become actors, were a radical way of crossing boundaries. Never wanting to limit herself, Abakanowicz went on to create sculpture and public works in a wide range of media over her 60-year career. Yet, hav-ing grown up in Poland in the 1930s, the trauma of World War II remained present, leading to works embodied with profound existential qualities. This is foreshadowed in her large, soft works that have a sensual material presence that relates to the body, both its vulnerability and its strength. Interest in her work has recently been resurgent, with a large traveling exhibition organized by Tate Modern, London, among the highlights. Exhibited in :Magdalena Abakanowicz, Marlborough Gallery, London, November 10December 23, 2022 Magdalena Abakanowicz and Anselm Kiefer, Marlborough Gallery, New York, September 29November 28, 2020 Abakanowicz : eine polnische Textilknstlerin, Zrcher Kunstgesellschaft, Helmhaus, August 10September 8, 1968, no. 1Literature /Press :Magdalena Abakanowicz and Anselm Kiefer (2020). New York : Marlborough Gallery, September 29November 28, 2020. Reproduced in color, p. 29Kunsten Idag, no. 1 (1968), Oslo edition, illustrated, pp. 3041Anna, 1964Wool, cotton cord, sisal, and horsehair 22 198269 cm23'