Wall Power!

Modern French Tapestry from the Mobilier national, Paris

December 14, 2024–March 9, 2025

Sonia Delaunay (French, 1885–1979)

Rythmes couleurs ou Panneau F 1898 (Color rhythms or Panel F 1898)

Designed 1973, woven October 1, 1974–July 25, 1975
Woven at Manufacture de Beauvais
Dyer: Jean Dufour
Weavers: Pascale Côme (chef de pièce), Martin 
Cotton warp, wool weft
Mobilier national, BV-276
© Pracusa. Photo: Françoise Baussan

Beginning in the 1930s, artists, government officials, art dealers, and entrepreneurs sought ways to modernize the ancient tradition of tapestry-making in France to reassert its role as an independent art form available to contemporary artists. Several decades of intense production and experimentation followed that brought international attention to a renewed tradition of French tapestry, as well as new opportunities for the historic manufactories of Gobelins and Beauvais, now overseen by the Mobilier national of France, and the private tapestry workshops in and around Aubusson. Drawn from the celebrated collection of the Mobilier national from the 1940s to the present day, this exhibition explores tapestries by such artists as Joan Miró, Jean Lurçat, Henri Matisse, and Le Corbusier, who were central to the rapid resurgence of tapestry production; mid-century abstraction by artists including Sonia Delaunay and Victor Vasarely; and more recent productions including works by Gilles Aillaud and Kiki Smith. 
 
Wall Power! Modern French Tapestry from the Mobilier national, Paris is organized by the Clark Art Institute and curated by Kathleen Morris, Sylvia and Leonard Marx Director of Collections and Exhibitions and curator of decorative arts.
 
Generous support for this exhibition is provided by George W. Ahl III,  the Coby Foundation, and Robert D. Kraus. The exhibition catalogue is made possible by Denise Littlefield Sobel.