1sl LINE linen, hemp, paper, cotton tape, pewter 96.75" x 12" x 1.25" 240.5 x 30.5 x 3 cm, 2005 $7,500

Selected collections and exhibition venues: Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England (Concealed-Discovered-Revealed, solo exhibition;acquistion); Bankfield Gallery and Museum, Halifax (Rock-Raffia-Linen-Lead, solo exhibition, permanent collection); Central Museum, of Textiles, Lodz, Poland (International Triennial of Tapestry); Bury St. Edmunds Art Gallery, Suffolk England (arttextiles I and 2,traveling exhibitions); the Barbican Centre, London, England (Woven Image: British Contemporary Tapestry, traveling exhibition); Cheney Cowles Memorial Museum, Spokane, Washington (Tapestry: Contemporary Imagery/ Ancient Tradition, traveling exhibition); British Crafts Centre, London, England (Wall Hung Textiles); Victorian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne, Australia (Sue Lawty: A Woven Language, solo exhibition, artist residency); Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester, England (Cloth & Culture NOW, traveling exhibition); Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast, Ireland (Contemporary Textile Art: International Open). Artist-in Residence: Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England.

2sl Detail TERRA

Statement: Climbing a mountain: Touching the rock – feeling the texture – exploring it for holds: balance – poise – rhythm – physical control – tension - total concentration – focus – clarity of mind; seeking a way through – movement – adrenaline – being scared. These are not different from the creative process of weaving a tapestry or making a drawing – being on the knife-edge arête between relevance and rubbish. A journey with an uncertain end. The heightened experiences of being alone in the mountains and alone in the middle of a piece of weaving are glorious and frightening and totally consuming. The content of my work is rooted in landscape – wild, remote. Rock and stone play a large part in my understanding for their embodiment of structure and time. I am interested in paring away the excess, refining an idea down to its essentials, intuitively feeling my way. Using linen, hemp, raffia, ramie and increasingly metals; I seek an understated restraint. I seek to produce work that is essentially still.                                                                                                 Sue Lawty

6sl Detail GRID