The Hyades
Aubusson tapestry woven by the Legoueix workshop.
With its ribbon signed by the artist, no. 5/6.
1968.
A member of the A.P.C.T. (Association des Peintres-Cartonniers de Tapisserie), Wogensky was one of many artists who devoted themselves to tapestry in the immediate post-war period, following in the footsteps of Lurçat. Initially influenced by Lurçat, Wogensky's work (159 cartoons according to the 1989 exhibition catalog) then evolved in the 1960s towards a lyrical abstraction that was not always fully embraced, from cosmic-astronomical themes to decomposed and moving bird forms, towards more refined and less dense cartoons. Although he always proclaimed himself a painter, the artist's reflection on tapestry is very accomplished: "Creating a wall cartoon... means thinking in terms of a space that no longer belongs to us, in terms of its dimensions and scale; it also requires a broad gesture that transforms and accentuates our presence."
"Les Hyades" belongs to Wogensky's "cosmic" vein (as its title suggests), which runs throughout the 1960s and culminates in "Cosmos" (1968, University of Strasbourg) and "Galaxie" (1970, Senate, Palais du Luxembourg). Chinés (omnipresent) and aplats coexist in nuanced color harmonies, in a curious, unknown world, as close to tiny cells seen under a microscope as to the infinitely large.
Bibliography:
Exhibition catalog: Robert Wogensky, l’oeuvre tissé, Aubusson, Musée départemental de la tapisserie, 1989
Exhibition catalog: Robert Wogensky, Angers, Musée Jean Lurçat et de la Tapisserie Contemporaine, 1989-1990
