MILAN — Italian cashmere and wool specialist Loro Piana presented the artwork of “fiber artist” Sheila Hicks at the opening of Milan’s Miart fair on Thursday.
Loro Piana said Hicks was contacted by the company to incorporate its linen threads with her personal vision and works that rely heavily on fabrics.
This is the second time Loro Piana has presented at Miart with an artist. Last year, Pae White made several tapestries using Loro Piana fabrics, the company noted.
Among the pieces on show at the ongoing exhibit are Hicks’ signature soft stone fiber sculptures and cascading forms. This time they were enhanced with vibrantly colored Loro Piana yarns.
Several pieces will show at Miart, a contemporary art exhibit at Fiera Milano fairgrounds through Sunday, as well as Loro Piana’s store on Via Montenapoleone. During Milan’s Salone del Mobile furniture and interior furnishings exhibition, running Saturday through April 17, the pieces currently showcased at the Miart space will move to Loro Piana’s recently opened showroom on Milan’s Via Bigli 21.
“Sheila has always worked with yarns,” said curator Marco Tagliafierro. “It is part of her daily life and she has always been inspired by yarns and fabrics.”
Tagliafierro emphasized that the artist and Loro Piana, which also makes fabrics for interiors, were complementary to each other in terms of their vision and style.
Hicks was born in Nebraska in 1934, studied at Yale University and spent part of her life traveling through Mexico, Chile, South Africa, Morocco and India. She now lives and works in New York and Paris.