Big Red

Susie Taylor

Tetris Texture: Big Red, 2022

Cotton weaving

48" x 70"

Presented by Johansson Projects, Booth D03


Susie Taylor’s work explores geometric abstraction through the tradition of weaving, a process that requires a creative and technical mindset to solve visual and structural puzzles. Imagery, rendered by the interlacing of warp and weft, is embedded in the very structure of the cloth. The interplay of yarns produces discernible color tones and textures that support a deeper exploration of translucency, opacity, saturation and dimension. Inspired by Formalism and the Bauhaus, her compositions include basic shapes like blocks and stripes to address pattern, symmetry and color interaction, and the notion that ordered systems can still flirt with chance, interruption, and improvisation. 

Susie’s textile panels – handcrafted with a traditional loom and cotton or linen yarn – seduce the eye with vibrant colors and geometric motifs. Her work dissolves the space between art and craft practices, positioning weaving at the core of her exploration of aesthetics. She is a Bay Area-based artist, and looks not only to Anni Albers but also Sol Lewitt, Agnes Martin, Frank Stella and Ellsworth Kelly. She studied, worked and continues to create within the lineage of the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College weavers. Some of her greatest influences come from these legendary weaving workshops and from their students, such as Kay Sekimachi’s dimensional weavings. 

Her works “Badland” and “Hotspot” were recently acquired into the de Young Museum’s permanent collection in San Francisco.