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New Exhibition Sees Interest in Knitting Soar
Listed under: News
Published: Friday, January 15, 2010
A Bedfordshire-born artist is set to propel the craft industry into the limelight once again with the launch of an exhibition featuring a giant knitted rock. Created as part of Tate Britain's Art Now Programme, Pyramid Piece 2009 by Andy Holden is a magnified replica of a small Egyptian stone fragment, created from a combination of yarn and foam.
The exhibition, which will be taking place between January 8th and April 10th this year, is one of several craft-inspired shows scheduled to appear at the gallery over the next 12 months, and is further testimony of the growing interest in this area.
The piece was inspired by a trip the artist took to Egypt as a young boy, where he took a small lump of rock from the pyramid of Cheops in Giza – something which racked him with guilt for the next 13 years, leading to him returning to the country many years later and replacing the stone where it had been found.
The craft aspect of the piece is heavily emphasised in the show, with the artist using the laborious, repetitive process of knitting to signify a form of punishment or penance for his theft.
The exhibition is expected to strengthen the craft sector's position in the art world and see interest in knitting peak once again.
For more information about the exhibition, please visit http://www.tate.org.uk
Image: Andy Holden, Pyramid Piece 2008
Copyright Andy Holden
Courtesy the artist; Works/Projects and Hidde van Seggelen
Photocredit: Tate Photography
The exhibition, which will be taking place between January 8th and April 10th this year, is one of several craft-inspired shows scheduled to appear at the gallery over the next 12 months, and is further testimony of the growing interest in this area.
The piece was inspired by a trip the artist took to Egypt as a young boy, where he took a small lump of rock from the pyramid of Cheops in Giza – something which racked him with guilt for the next 13 years, leading to him returning to the country many years later and replacing the stone where it had been found.
The craft aspect of the piece is heavily emphasised in the show, with the artist using the laborious, repetitive process of knitting to signify a form of punishment or penance for his theft.
The exhibition is expected to strengthen the craft sector's position in the art world and see interest in knitting peak once again.
For more information about the exhibition, please visit http://www.tate.org.uk
Image: Andy Holden, Pyramid Piece 2008
Copyright Andy Holden
Courtesy the artist; Works/Projects and Hidde van Seggelen
Photocredit: Tate Photography
