NADA New York 2024

Ana Esteve Llorens works with yarns and weaving techniques she encountered when living and traveling throughout Mexico, combining them with those of her native Spain, while researching the sculptural possibilities of fibers.

The creation of this work comprises weaving on a backstrap loom, a traditional method of textile production that starts defining dimensions and densities of threads, that is, length and width of warp. These dimensions are equally determined by the space where the textiles are produced, by the different thicknesses of the fibers employed, and by the possibilities and limitations of the body of the artist, the weaver. Colors are the result of an investigation of the history of natural dyes and an exploration of native and invasive plants, seeds, and insects growing in the surrounding places. Natural pigments are manually extracted by grinding and boiling substances. Colors, dependent on the conditions of the season, carry with them the memory of the places and of their making: temperature, humidity, water quality. Each color is irrevocably unique and present. Raw threads, collected and found, like cotton, jute, and hemp, are combined with naturally dyed cotton threads and installed taut in a backstrap loom. Surfaces are slowly hand-woven showing and concealing warp and weft, growing into shapes as threads compress and expand along the duration of the process.

The resulting textiles are then carefully sewn onto fabric and stretched and mounted over foam-cushioned plywood. A custom-made frame underlines the final shapes.

Each piece becomes a place, with a density, a diary of lines in movement, the record of a performance over time. Layers of time juxtapose in surfaces that claim space; the time of the materials, that of the process, and the actual time of the beholder.