Mexican artist Gabriel Dawe has mesmerised the world for more than ten years with his awe-inspiring and eye-soothing thread art installations. If we call Gabriel Dawe a textile art genius, it would not be overstating. The Dallas artist creates site-specific installations made of simple thread and boasts rainbow-like colours. His works also appear in areas where anybody can see them, including office buildings and airports. SURFACES REPORTER (SR) is sharing below more about the artist, his formal training, and what inspired him to create such beautiful massive thread installations. Scroll down to read:
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Since childhood, Gabriel Dawe has been working with fibre. According to him, his grandmother taught embroidery work to his sister but not to him because these types of occupations are mainly associated with girls and not apt for boys in Mexico City. However, the young Gabriel, keenly interested in thread works, stole string and worked out the process independently.
An artist’s own words, “I started working with textiles as a way to challenge the notions of gender identity. I grew up in Mexico City where there is a strong notion of the “macho” culture which forbade me to investigate textiles as a child. Now, as an adult, I decided to challenge this continuous culture.”
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Dawe formally trained as a graphic designer, but he ultimately turned to embroidery and textiles with experimentation and exploration. The artist creates work as an extension and intersection of his curiosity to explore the connection between architecture and fashion.
He makes all kinds of marvellous things with raw textiles. His ongoing Plexus series is a collection of unusual, complex structures that create intricate patterns of colour with sewing thread. He collected thousands of vibrant-hued threads to build massive and colourful installations, which dazzle with reflected light.
The artist investigates the visible spectrum of light to create his large-scale installations of thread that stretch between points on the ceiling to the floor's points.
His works have been exhibited in Denmark, Canada, Belgium, the Uk, and the US. Recently, in a WONDER exhibition, the artist exhibited his installation called ‘Plexus A1’. He used around 100 kilometres of cotton thread to form this bright installation similar to the light spectrum.
Learn more about the artist in this interview with Smithsonian American Art Museum, where he shared his works and motivation. He also explained how his works respond to the strong gender stereotypes surrounding the textile world.
Image courtesy: www.gabrieldawe.com
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