Fragmentation

Works by Doerte Weber

On view November 4 - December 17, 2022

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Artist Statement

Fragmentation in Nature has always occurred through fire, floods and volcanos. The process of fragmenting means breaking up a large expanse into small, distinct pieces. In recent years we have seen more and more pictures of an accelerated fragmentation of habitat across the earth. This is due to global warming and human impacts. Roads, urbanization and agriculture are some of the main activities that break up natural areas. Aerial pictures of these habitats fascinate me and provide the inspiration for this series of weavings. At the most elemental level, weaving consist of warp and weft, each running in a separate direction but intertwined. For me, this metaphor perfectly illustrates how nature is bound together in its own way. The search to find fibers which illustrate parts of nature in its diversity led me from very fine, delicate and valuable yarns to bulky polyester fibers in the form of leftover selvages and cut up fabrics. The juxtaposition of these different fibers transform the flat surface into a topographic map of our environment. In a few pieces, I leave spaces in the structure of the weaving to illustrate nature hanging on by a thread. Though we are in a global transition, making lifestyle changes and adapting to a changing climate, I want to encourage people to believe in a hopeful future. Only through positive action can constructive change occur. Each weaving tells part of the story as I see it. These pieces are not a direct representation of any existing view of the earth, but are created in my mind. Every piece will have a QR code to allow the viewer to learn more about my work.

Artist Bio

Doerte Weber was born in 1962 in Blender, Germany where she earned a degree in social pedagogy. After a few years of traveling and living in Asia and England, she moved to Texas in 1986. Although she took several years of weaving classes at the Southwest School of Art in the early 1990s, she didn’t start weaving artwork until she returned from a visit to the Bauhaus Exhibit in Berlin in 2009. She found herself inspired by the women who entered the Bauhaus Community thinking they would produce art like the men, using glass, metal and all the media we associate with the Bauhaus period. Instead, having been persuaded into weaving and teaching themselves the craft, these women honed that skill, creating beautiful and unique works of art. Weber is a mostly self-taught artist who weaves with diverse, modern, quotidian materials. Searching for what quietly exists in our daily surroundings, she transforms those often overlooked materials into works of art which demand attention. Her pieces utilize traditional weaving patterns, which provide texture to conventionally flat surfaces and give an assurance of familiarity and connection to our history. Inspiration for her artwork comes from her travels, current events, and her environment. She strives to create something which seizes the moment and transforms it through medium and connection. Doerte Weber's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and can be found in private as well as public collections.