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Orinoco

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Photography by Edward C. Robison III.
Orinoco
Photography by Edward C. Robison III.

Orinoco

Artist (1907 - 2007)
Date1967
MediumLinen
Dimensions129 × 22 1/2 × 4 in. (327.7 × 57.2 × 10.2 cm)
ClassificationsTextile
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2022.14
Accession number 2022.14
DescriptionOne of a series of “rivers” (closely related to Dark River, 1962, Museum of Modern Art), Orinoco takes its title from one of the longest rivers in South America.
On View
Not on view
ProvenanceArtist [1907-2007]; Lenore G. Tawney Foundation, New York, NY; (Alison Jacques, London, England); purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2022
Label TextTawney wanted this work to hang away from the wall, to take up space and create shadows. The presentation complements the open weave, which Tawney said “evolved from a study of Peruvian techniques, out of twining and twisting. Out of that came my new way of working, of dividing and separating the piece.” Tawney likened her converging and diverging threads to the body’s breath and flowing water. She titled this work “Orinoco” after a river that runs through Venezuela and Colombia.

Tawney quería que esta obra colgara lejos de la pared, para que ocupara espacio y creara sombras. La presentación complementa el tejido abierto, que, según la artista, “se desarrolló a partir de un estudio de las técnicas peruanas, del trenzado y la torsión. De ahí surgió mi nueva forma de trabajar, de dividir y separar la pieza”. Tawney comparó sus hilos convergentes y divergentes con la respiración del cuerpo y el agua que fluye, y tituló esta obra “Orinoco” en honor a un río que atraviesa Venezuela y Colombia.
Photography by Edward C. Robison III.
Lenore Tawney
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