Frieze LA: Barbara Levittoux-Świderska

Richard Saltoun Gallery will present a solo booth focused on pioneering Polish textile artist, Barbara Levittoux-Świderska (1933-2019), featuring fibre sculptures, paintings and works on paper.

One of the most important yet often overlooked textile artists who transformed tapestry from flat decorations to avant-garde installations, Poland, Levittoux-Świderska came to prominence in the 1960s when textile entered into mainstream contemporary art. Like fellow Polish textile artists Magdalena Abakanowicz and Jolanta Owidzka, Levittoux-Świderska followed the Eastern European tradition, incorporating locally sourced materials and rural practices to improvise new textile art-making methods and forms. 

Her work has featured in important biennales celebrating textile art, including the International Tapestry Biennales in Lausanne in 1975, 1985 and 2009, and she was included in every edition of the International Textile Triennial organised by the Central Museum of Łódź, Poland from its inception in 1975 until her last participation in 2012. Her work is represented in notable private and museum collections, including, amongst others, the National Museum in Warsaw and Poznań, as well as the Textile Museum in Łódź.In 2010, she received a life-time award for her achievements in textile.