Another week, another weaving exhibition. But Tadek Beutlich (1922-2011) was more than a weaver – he was also an artist, printmaker, and teacher. And his innovative weaving both on and off the loom revelled in the use of unconventional materials and techniques.

A couple of years ago there was a great exhibition of his work at Morley Gallery in London. Now, the Museum of Art and Craft in the Sussex village of Ditchling, where Beutlich lived and worked for several years, is staging another one. Arranged chronologically, the exhibition allows you to trace the development of his work, from his early days at Camberwell Art School to running Gospels, Ethel Mairet’s former workshop in Ditchling. Later he moved to Spain, before finally moving back to Folkestone.

As someone who works in 3D and experiments with “modular” work (making lots of individual units and joining them together), I find the “free warp tapestry” that Beutlich developed in Spain particularly appealing. His use of local materials, such as esparto grass, and colour, from cheap synthetic yarn he bought at local markets, give these works a joyous freedom, breaking the bounds of what can be achieved with a loom.

Pushing the boundaries of tapestry

That said, the work he did on the loom while living in Ditchling was extraordinary and really pushed the boundaries of tapestry weaving. According to Beutlich, “I don’t call them any more tapestries because they were very three dimensional and very experimental”.

Lacy, open-weave warps enclose found materials such as charred wood, honesty seed heads, and X-ray film. Other heavily textured works feature long hanks of sisal and jute twisted, coiled, and looped back on themselves, conjuring up the curls and curlicues of 18th-century wigs – though they also feel slightly ominous.

Figurative work

After Beutlich moved back to the UK from Spain he experimented with more figurative works, both individuals and groups. For me these evoked a sense of poignant vulnerability, perhaps relating to his experiences in the Second World war.

Contemporary commissions

As part of the exhibition the museum has commissioned two contemporary pieces by Tim Johnson and Julie Rignell (disclosure: I know both of these makers personally).

Tim’s piece, Las Golondrinas (the name of Beutlich’s house in Spain) uses rings of local bamboo and canya joined together with coloured yarn to form separate units that can be assembled in different arrangements to form different compositions. So if the piece is installed in another exhibition it will look completely different.

Julie’s piece, Regenerate, is a collaborative installation that encourages museum visitors to try Beutlich’s wrapping technique for themselves. Seedheads collected from around Ditchling can be wrapped with yarn and hung from a suspended spiral. As the seasons change, so will the colours of the plants and seedheads available, so the installation will change over time.

Tadek Beutlich: On and Off the Loom runs at the Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft until 22 June 2025.

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