Sguardi sul Tessile: Gina Morandini
Tina Modotti Gallery, Udine, IT
07.12.2024 – 05.01.2025
Source: Le Arti Tessili
The “Sguardi sul Tessile” exhibition, after inaugurating four events between Maniago in the Galleria di Arte Tessile Contemporanea and Pordenone in the spaces of the Savio Macchine Tessili company, stops in Udine with the key exhibition event dedicated to the renowned fiber artist Gina Morandini.
Gina Morandini (1931, San Giorgio di Nogaro UD - 2021, Campoformido UD) was a woman who left her mark on Udine - the city that adopted her since childhood - artisan, innovative and dynamic teacher, tenacious and tireless project manager, passionate researcher and, focus of this event, contemporary artist of the highest caliber, a well-known reference in the world of International Textiles and in many cultural environments of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. Graduated from the “Bianchini Female Technical Institute” of Udine, in the early 1950s, she opened a hand-weaving workshop in Udine, where she designed and produced fabrics for furniture and clothing with an innovative design, collaborating with local architects and artists. In 1960 she held the chair as founder and teacher of the “ Sezione Arte del Tessuto, Tappeto e Arazzo” (Fabric, Carpet and Tapestry Art Section) of the School of Art, now the “Giovanni Sello” Art High School of Udine. Since the 1980s she has been passionate about Fiber Art, experimenting with materials, techniques and new expressive languages.
In the 1990s she became an active member of the DARS (Donna Arte Ricerca e Sperimentazione) committee in Udine where, among many initiatives, she conceived the Artist's Book Review “Come un Racconto” with Marina Giovannelli. In the same period she encountered poetry which she translated with the textile medium, engaging with the women writers of the “Anna Achmatova” group. She was responsible for founding the Le Arti Tessili Association in 1987 and for establishing the Valcellina Award International Contemporary Textile/Fiber Art Competition dedicated to young artists under 35, whose 12th edition will be produced in the two-year period 2025/2026. A competition strongly desired by Morandini to encourage the work of emerging talents, an international reference stage that tells a long story of plots and solid collaborations with Schools and Academies among the most prestigious in Italy and Europe, in an innovative language.
On display, it will be possible to admire 26 works by the artist created between 1991 and 2016 that offer an overview of the themes she addresses such as memory, the body, the female universe, knots.