Katy Corner
‘Each tapestry has an individual presence with quirks and challenges of its own. The passage from blank canvas to mounted, framed tapestry has been rich, complex and full of surprises.’
London-born artist Katy Corner (1956 - 2016) spent most of her life in Wellington, working with a variety of mediums before settling on tapestry in 2001.
Hand-woven on a loom, tapestry is an intricate and relatively fragile form of textile art that creates elaborately detailed patterns from interlacing wefts. This process is difficult and painstaking; and that is precisely what drew Katy to the art form. In life, Katy was an insomniac, spending long nights working on her tapestries and evolving her technique to create labyrinthine and meticulous compositions that hint at allegory and symbolism. The abstract and geometric works draw on a wide range of influences, including music, Japanese, medical and architectural designs.
"The process may seem slow, one stitch methodically following the other, freezing moments. A change in exploration of colour or direction brings new dimensions though, and the cumulative effect can be explosive."
Katy passed away in 2016.
