Nancy Nicholson - First San Marco Panel
First San Marco Panel, wool weft on a cotton warp stitched to a stretched linen canvas, 95 x
45cm, 2023. Flat woven on countermarched loom.
One of a collection of pieces inspired by Fra Angelico’s frescos in San Marco,
Florence. It struck me, whilst walking through the stillness of the San Marco
corridors, that even if the specifics of the monastery’s religion are removed, what
existed there and what permeated every visitor, was a feeling of solid foundations, of
something fundamental. Whether or not that is expressed through literal depictions of
a Christian narrative or no. I wanted to find that feeling (though stripped of formal
religion) and weave it into my ancient craft creating steady poise and balance in
modern geometric compositions that linked back in history, grounding me. This piece
and others made in similar response, use a colour palate drawn from the pigments
used by Fra Angelico. I wanted to keep the sense of them rooted in the earth and
that particular quality frescos have of being both ground (foundational) and image
(art).
First San Marco Panel, wool weft on a cotton warp stitched to a stretched linen canvas, 95 x
45cm, 2023. Flat woven on countermarched loom.
One of a collection of pieces inspired by Fra Angelico’s frescos in San Marco,
Florence. It struck me, whilst walking through the stillness of the San Marco
corridors, that even if the specifics of the monastery’s religion are removed, what
existed there and what permeated every visitor, was a feeling of solid foundations, of
something fundamental. Whether or not that is expressed through literal depictions of
a Christian narrative or no. I wanted to find that feeling (though stripped of formal
religion) and weave it into my ancient craft creating steady poise and balance in
modern geometric compositions that linked back in history, grounding me. This piece
and others made in similar response, use a colour palate drawn from the pigments
used by Fra Angelico. I wanted to keep the sense of them rooted in the earth and
that particular quality frescos have of being both ground (foundational) and image
(art).
First San Marco Panel, wool weft on a cotton warp stitched to a stretched linen canvas, 95 x
45cm, 2023. Flat woven on countermarched loom.
One of a collection of pieces inspired by Fra Angelico’s frescos in San Marco,
Florence. It struck me, whilst walking through the stillness of the San Marco
corridors, that even if the specifics of the monastery’s religion are removed, what
existed there and what permeated every visitor, was a feeling of solid foundations, of
something fundamental. Whether or not that is expressed through literal depictions of
a Christian narrative or no. I wanted to find that feeling (though stripped of formal
religion) and weave it into my ancient craft creating steady poise and balance in
modern geometric compositions that linked back in history, grounding me. This piece
and others made in similar response, use a colour palate drawn from the pigments
used by Fra Angelico. I wanted to keep the sense of them rooted in the earth and
that particular quality frescos have of being both ground (foundational) and image
(art).
