Sussy Cazalet's intricate weavings at Tristan Hoare Gallery

(Image credit: Sussy Cazalet at Tristan Hoare Gallery)

Artist Sussy Cazalet has followed an eclectic path. A background studying printed textiles and interior architecture at New York’s Parson School of Design led to a career in theatre design, before Cazalet began to create her own handwoven works.

Sussy Cazalet&rsquo;s tapestries — Artist Sussy Cazalet

A love of mid-century modernist design lies at the heart of her artistic practice, with her travels across India, Africa and the Middle East inspiring her textile works. In 2023, Cazelet unveiled nine woven silk-and-wool tapestries at London’s Tristan Hoare Gallery, the culmination of a close, collaborative project with weavers around the world.

Cazalet is building on these foundations with her second show at the gallery, Ascendance, here translating watercolour studies into fourteen handwoven tapestries. The results are bold and contemporary, juxtaposing instinct with studied form to create hypnotic works.

Despite the modern feel, Cazalet draws on traditional methodologies. She begins with watercolour on paper, which become richly layered and tangible tapestries created using flat-loom weaving and organic dyes. By painting in fibre, Cazelet imbues each piece with a raw edge, calling on cyclical symbols, such as the sun and moon, for an abstract and geometric celebration of materials. Works, displayed alongside watercolour studies and vintage furniture chosen by Cazalet, become immersive mediations on form.

Ascendance is at Tristan Hoare Gallery from 6 February - 20 March

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Hannah Silver is a writer and editor with over 20 years of experience in journalism, spanning national newspapers and independent magazines. Currently Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*, she has overseen offbeat art trends and conducted in-depth profiles for print and digital, as well as writing and commissioning extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury since joining in 2019.