Patrizia Polese

Weaver

©Patrizia Polese

©Alessandra Freguja

©Patrizia Polese

Weaving space and time together

Patrizia uses weaving to convey her vision
She creates unique 3D woven sculptures
Her artworks go beyond functionality

Patrizia Polese encountered the world of weaving after years spent as a restorer, then she specialised in tapestries and rugs. From her workshop near Treviso in northern Italy, she creates unique pieces, both furnishings and artworks, such as three-dimensional woven sculptures and installations, using various kind of fibres and metals. In her in-depth research, she aims to convey the deep interconnections in nature: between humans, animals, plants, space and time. Patrizia regularly exhibits her work in Italy and abroad. She also collaborates with fashion and furniture design companies. She teaches Textile Design at the IUAV University in Venice and the art of using the loom both in schools and online.

Interview

©Alessandra Freguja

©Alessandra Freguja

How would you define what you do?: I don’t like clichés and definitions at all. I don’t want to choose between craftsmanship and art. I try to bring the two worlds together in the most natural way. Tecnhical skills, design and the vision to realise objects which are artworks, define what I do.
What links art and craft for you?: Weaving is an unusual way to achieve visual outcomes, being a so-called applied art. I’ve wanted it to be a fully artistic language, beyond the functionality of objects, through the use of symbology, to convey concepts, also thanks to titles.
What are your main sources of ispiration?: I embraced weaving after a journey to Mexico, where I found a vital tradition. From Buddhism, I learned to see how connected things are. The Japanese culture inspires me with its wisdom about emptiness and fullness, what is seen and unseen. And the whole plant kingdom.
Do you master any specific techniques?: I created a circular loom and I also use some cardboard cylinders to shape three-dimensional sculptures, in which the warp is made of metal threads (similar to basketry). Three-dimensional works could play a major role in renewing this craft.

Patrizia Polese is a master artisan: she began her career in 2001 and she started teaching in 2010