Tzuri Gueta: Si51

 

“The future is within ourselves.” (Li Edelkoort)

 

A first fleeting, caressing glance at the rich textures before us notes the organic homogeneity at the heart of the work created by textile designer Tzuri Gueta. The appearance of the object is deceptive. It appears to be the product of a highly technological casting process, while its uniqueness is in fact in using a technique that steers a novel material – with unsophisticated means and a free hand – into the realm of traditional textile.

Gueta – born in Givat Olga (1968), a graduate of Shenkar, recipient of the Andy Prize for 2010 – uses silicone to change the materiality of the fabric and break through the warp-and-weft barrier. This banal material, familiar to us from construction work, crack filling, grafts and cosmetics, is transformed in Gueta’s hand: natural fibers endow silicone with an organic appearance, while silicone in turn makes these fibers user-friendly.

Gueta’s innovative developments were born through designing fabrics for haute couture designers in Paris, where he lives and works. His involvement in this fascinating field has contributed to Gueta’s research broadening beyond the texture of fabrics and to his shift from two- to three-dimensional forms, leading to experimentation in the field of accessories, including light fixtures and furniture pieces.

The current exhibition features a textile installation. It is a visual and conceptual blend, outlining in space an organic landscape filled with textures and hues; extending from softness to firmness, from opacity to transparency, from the functional to the decorative, the material’s alienated rigidity emits sensual gentleness. This total environment raises questions about (natural and cultural) processes of growth and erosion, as the course of time seems to coagulate in intertwined forms – like moss or seaweed – generating a dual aesthetic of neglect and environmental awareness.

 

 

Wall Text and photographs: Sophia Dekel-Caspi
Curator : Sophia Dekel-Caspi
Assitent Curator: Maya Vinitsky
Text Editing: Dapna Raz
English: Einat Adi
Graphic Desgin : Michal Sahar and Koby Levy (The League)
Photography by:  Roni Cnaani