Yet another revelatory exhibition about the work of an artist previously unknown to me, in a year of full of them. This was one though was personally important as it related really closely to elements of my own art, and others that have been influential to a particular series of mine. In 2020 during the height of the lockdown I was inspired by artists and designers working with the humble medium of string/thread to create iconic pieces of art, sculpture and furniture. From this inspiration I began to develop my Aeolus series (here). I was unaware then of the work of artist Sue Fuller (1914-2006), a major part of whose oeuvre consisted of creating the most amazing stringed artworks. This small exhibition at Luxembourg +Co. served to enlighten me about her personal history and art. Fuller started out a student printmaker under the tutelages of Hans Hofmann, Stanley Hayter and Josef Albers developing an interest in geometric abstraction which led to her adoption of string as a tool for personal artistic expression. As impressive as the reputations of her tutors were, it was Fuller's mothers pastimes of using thread in knitting and crocheting which Fuller was able to play with as a child which were to be as equally influential on the development of her artwork. Fuller began making abstract string compositions as early as 1949 and these would become the signature works she became known for. Fuller became one of the first artists to use the technique of embedding her string designs in the plastic resin lucite so that the "composition appears to float within a clear medium", which she recieved a patent for in 1969. I was surprised at how well the lucite preserves the vibrant colours of the string encased within. There is such inventiveness with these stringed works - complex decorative mandalas, swirling vortices, and one piece - Composition #12 - incorporating pieces of wood, as well as loose pieces of string abstractly threaded throughout the structured strings that recall the surreal landscapes of Max Ernst. Like the recent Olga de Amaral exhibition (here), the works of Sue Fuller have been a significant revelation to me. It was so good, and important to be able to experience these works first hand, as I was able to with some of Barbara Hepworth's original stringed sculptures earlier this year (here). I have started a new series of stitched thread works closely related to the Aeolus series and can now use the memories of Fuller's thread works as a guiding light.
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