Gyöngy Laky: Screwing With Order. Assembled Art, Actions and Creative Practice

Born in 1944, Gyöngy Laky was once described as a wood whisperer. Her unique, elaborately connected, abstract assemblages -primarily made of wood but also other materials- laid the way for contemporary fiber art.

Laky is a master of juxtaposing both natural and industrially produced materials and letting the discordant results work for her. Yet Laky’s art always conveys her own history: she was born under a hail of bombs during World War II and emigrated from postwar Hungary to the USA. After studying at the University of California, Berkeley, she founded the Fiberworks Center for Textile Arts there in the 1970s and contributed significantly to developing the San Francisco Bay Area into a hub for the discipline. From 1978 to 2005 she taught at the University of California, Davis. Gyöngy Laky was a frequent traveler, most notably in Asia. She worked in various workshops there, became acquainted with new weaving and braiding techniques, experimented with diverse materials, and laid the foundation for a wholly original oeuvre that ranges from smaller basket-like objects to expansive Land Art.

The main inspiration for Laky’s work comes from the open patterns of bridges and scaffolding or the skeleton-like grids of skyscrapers. The intricate elements of her objects lend them an idiosyncratic, often elegant character. And even the simplest compositions, which can be read like drawings, 'have an inner pulse that animates them' says Jim Melchert, one of the authors. This newly released monograph provides a comprehensive overview of Laky’s oeuvre as well as an insight into her teachings. Since the 1970s she has championed sustainability in art and design and propagated innovative thinking as well as fruitful encounters with chance.

The publication reveals a panorama of Gyöngy Laky’s entire oeuvre on over 350 pages. Mija Riedel’s essay traces the artist’s career and sheds light on her environs from her beginnings in Hungary, while David M. Roth devotes his text to the Words & Letters group of works and their inherent social-political potential. A book on an important textile artist and sculptor who in many respects is yet to be discovered.