BY KAREN BOSSICK

Those who venture into Gail Severn Gallery during Friday’s Apres Ski Giving Walk are in for a surprise.

Giant tapestries woven in Belgium cover the wall of Severn’s Great Room, taking the place of the paintings that usually hang there.

Even more surprising, the tapestries were created by several artists who regularly show their oils and watercolors at Gail Severn Gallery.

The Apres Ski Giving Walk—from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24—will feature four tapestries of Hung Liu’s, including “Kite 3/8,” a colorful 91-by-94-inch tapestry featuring a kite, dragonfly and young Chinese lass.

April Gornik has woven a stunning depiction of light in her 76-by-80-inch tapestry “Rain, Storm and Light,” while capturing the reflections on a lake in her even bigger 76-by-90-inch “Radiant Light.”

Deborah Oropallo, known for painting powerful women in cowboy chaps and general’s uniforms, now has one in tapestry—a 100-by-75-inch creation called “Jersey Girl.”

Kiki Smith, known for her fairy tale-like work, has created a 115-by-75-inch tapestry named “Guide” of two eagles and another called “Sky,” which depicts a woman floating amidst the stars, her feet touching the mountain tops.

And Donald and Era Farnsworth have a couple of tapestries of trees, including a 96-by-75-inch tree in full autumn glory, which they’ve dubbed “Tree Thangka II.”

“The subject matter is the same for each of these artists, but the medium is completely different,” said Gail Severn. “All these artists are still doing what they’ve always done, but they chose to make this huge transition to translate what they normally do in water color or oil.”

The tapestries are perfect for walls where paintings can’t be hung due to glare from light, Severn said.  

“These are great for homes with bigger windows,” she added.

Historically, the time-honored technique of woven tapestries has been part of the art world dating back centuries, said Severn. Early Greeks and Romans used tapestries to decorate affluent homes and important buildings, including the walls of the Parthenon. Ancient Egyptians and Incas buried their dead in their tapestries.

Introduced to Europe by the Moors following the collapse of the Roman Empire, tapestries became status symbols among the aristocracy. They decorated the walls of castles, providing insulation. By the time of the Renaissance, weavers were copying the world’s great paintings in their tapestries.

The paintings featured in Gail Severn’s exhibition were made on the Jacquard loom, which was invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1804. The method was a difficult lengthy process, involving months of work, as weavers worked with perforated cards like those used in player pianos and early computers. But, once the punch cards were made, the tapestries could be woven more than once.

Today, modern-day computerized design methods capture minute details of an artist’s design.

Donald Farnsworth became involved when Artist John Nava turned a proposed piece of art into textile for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. Since, he’s helped a number of artists transform their image into fiber using a technique that blends old-world weaving processes with digital techniques

The tapestries are woven in cotton with some viscose at a small family-owned mill in Belguim.

The works merit close inspection, said Severn.

“All these have 300 thread count, meaning there are 300 threads in one square inch—that’s how densely it’s woven,” she said. “From a distance you may think part of the tapestry is black and white or cream colored. But get up close, and you’ll see all these other colors of thread—red and blue, green and pink. It’s an amazing texture.”

DID YOU KNOW?

During the Hundred Years War many important tapestries were burned for their precious metal content. That prompted numerous tapestry artists and craftsmen to move the center of tapestry production from Paris to Flanders, or present-day Belgium.