Trained as a painter but introduced to weaving in Berlin in 2004, Canadian-born artist Brent Wadden decided three years ago to ditch paint entirely in favour of yarns. Each of his dazzling artworks is composed of individual geometric panels that are painstakingly woven by hand, on backstrap and floor looms from second-hand and leftover fibres. Stretched over raw canvas in graphic compositions, the abstract works that Wadden creates are characterised by their wobbly lines and errors. They are a celebration of the imperfect.
Citing First Nation, folk and Bauhaus textiles among his influences – as well as painting movements such as abstract expressionism – Wadden calls into question the hierarchies of media and disciplines with his work. In conversation with Nicolas Trembley earlier this year, Wadden commented,
'I liked the tension by having the weaving and the paintings in the same room, the language that existed or was created by having both of the things – something like oil painting, which most people would consider a high art or craft, and then the weavings which are like this lesser thing where the textiles could just be on the floor. People don't really respect them as art. It's more of a disposable medium and I wanted to create that dialogue in the gallery space between the two.'
Opened last week at London's Pace Gallery, Wadden's first solo exhibition in the UK features five new site-specific works that respond to the scale of the space at 6 Burlington Gardens. At first glance, they appear to be two-tone abstractions; but on closer inspection the kaleidoscope of colour found in the leftover acrylic, cotton and wool fibres is revealed.
'For me, my work is about patterning, and rhythm, and always making a mistake at some point throughout it,' Wadden tells Trembley. 'It’s not a mistake if you purposely do it, but there’s a rhythm that happens and there’s a format in which you think. There’s a formula that I’m using in each piece but there’s always a mistake that exists in the work, which I allow to happen.'
Made up of five new site-specific works, the show presents Wadden's new weavings in a direct response to the scale of the gallery at 6 Burlington Gardens
Each artwork is composed of individual geometric panels that are painstakingly woven by hand on backstrap and floor looms from second-hand and leftover fibres
Stretched over raw canvas in graphic compositions, the abstract artworks that Wadden weaves are characterised by their wobbly lines and undisguised errors
Wadden cites First Nation, folk and Bauhaus textiles among his influences as well as painting movements such as abstract expressionism
INFORMATION
’How Long is Now’ is on view until 31 October
ADDRESS
Pace Gallery
6 Burlington Gardens
London, W1S 3ET
-
The great American museum boomNine of the world’s top ten most expensive, recently announced cultural projects are in the US. What is driving this investment, and is this statistic sustainable?
-
Here’s how Heathrow is reimagining airport chaos as ambient musicGrammy-nominated Jordan Rakei turns travel noise into a meditative soundtrack by sampling everything from baggage belts to jet engines
-
Wallpaper* checks into Gansevoort Meatpacking, an art-filled hotel that mirrors the district’s glow-upThis sharp, stylish New York hotel is a fixture in its neighbourhood, where boutiques, restaurants and clubs have long since taken over spaces once occupied by slaughterhouses
-
‘100 Years, 60 Designers, 1 Future’: 1882 Ltd plate auction supports ceramic craftThe ceramics brand’s founder Emily Johnson asked 60 artists, designers, musicians and architects – from John Pawson to Robbie Williams – to design plates, which will be auctioned to fund the next generation of craftspeople
-
The animals came in two by two, hurrah!Jonathan Baldock’s ‘WYRD’ menagerie takes up residence at Scotland’s Jupiter Artland for the summer
-
11 things that caught our eye at Clerkenwell Design Week 2025The Wallpaper* team bring you highlights from London’s Clerkenwell Design Week (20-22 May) – from public installations to product launches and a biscuit bar
-
‘Romantic brutalism’ rethinks Polish craftAn exhibition in Warsaw gives local makers their due, looking inside the burgeoning world of Polish design
-
‘R for Repair’ at London Design Festival displays broken objects, re-formedIn the second half of a two-part exhibition and as part of London Design Festival 2022, ‘R for Repair’ at the V&A displays broken objects, re-formed
-
‘Finding quality through the act of making’: Pearson Lloyd celebrates 25 years of designPearson Lloyd’s show ‘Change Making’ reflects on past designs from its archives, showcasing the influences on and evolution of the studio, from furniture design to the NHS
-
Tom Dixon marks his studio's 20 years with a show of design experimentsMushroom, cork, steel coral and more: Tom Dixon showcases an overview of his design experiments as he celebrates his practice's 20 years
-
Porro unveils new London showroom at Coal OfficeLondon Design Festival 2022: industrial architecture meets pure geometries in the new Porro showroom, taking over a space within Tom Dixon’s Coal Office to showcase the brand’s systems and furniture
