Established by the Government of Victoria in 1976, the Victorian Tapestry Workshop has an international reputation for its handwoven tapestries. The majority of its tapestries are large-scale corporate and public commissions, but there has also been a demand from individual clients keen to own small examples of work. In order to make its tapestries more widely available, the workshop put together a collection of specially designed small tapestries, to be woven in limited editions.
Stephen Benwell is one of Australia's most notable ceramicists. He studied at the Victorian College of the Arts and received his Diploma of Art in 1974. In 2005, Benwell was awarded his Masters of Fine Arts from the Monash University. Primarily a ceramicist, Benwell uses the medium as a canvas, the lively marks, imagery and graceful use of colour are central to any piece he creates. Figure demonstrates his lyrical painitng style, which often contains a narrative, and the quirky use of imagery in this tapestry is reminiscient of the undulating surfaces of his ceramics.
Physical description
Handwoven Gobelin tapestry. Composition in blue, brown, yellow and black on a white ground. The pattern is broadly split into three vertical bands. The central band shows a standing male figure formed from black lines outlined in white on a blue ground. The left and right hand sides both show fairly abstract black lines also outlined in white. There is a female head in the middle of the right hand side of the tapestry.
Place of Origin
Melbourne, Australia (made)
Date
1989 (made)
Artist/maker
Benwell, Stephen (designer)
Victorian Tapestry Workshop (makers)
Materials and Techniques
Tapestry woven with cotton weft on cotton warp
Marks and inscriptions
'Artist: Stephen Benwell/Title: Figure/Victorian Tapestry Workshop15/89'
Dimensions
Length: 28 cm supporting board, Width: 28 cm supporting board, Length: 21 cm tapestry, Width: 20.5 cm tapestry
Object history note
Artist's statement: 'I make handbuilt ceramics with underglaze painting - The long history of ceramics provides a starting point after which my work incorporates these historical sources into ornaments, vases, sculpture and other ceramic objects.'
Purchased. Registered File number 1994/1388.
Historical significance: This series of miniature tapestries was created by the Victorian Tapestry Workshop as a way of widening access to and ownership of their work. A number of artists, such as Stephen Benwell, the ceramic artist, agreed to collaborate on the project. Several of them spent time at the Workshop as artists in residence. This project differed from the usual large scale long-term work of the Workshop and provided individual, short-term and intimate challenges for the weavers.
Historical context note
The Victorian Tapestry Workshop, established by the Government of Victoria in 1976, has an international reputation for the freshness, vitality and technical excellence of its hand-woven tapestries. The majority of the Workshop's tapestries are large-scale commissions, for display in venues such as arts complexes, schools and universities, corporate foyers and boardrooms. Between 1983 and 1988 the Workshop collaborated with Australian artist Arthur Boyd to produce a monumental tapestry for permanent display in the new Parliament House n Canberra. There has always been a demand from individual clients eager to own small examples of work and, in order to make their tapestries more widely available, the Workshop put together a collection of specially designed small tapestries to be woven in limited editions. Designs were commissioned from a number of Australian artists, several of whom spent time with the weavers as artists in residence.
Descriptive line
Tapestry woven with cotton weft on cotton warp, 'Figure', designed by Stephen Benwell for the Victorian Tapestry Workshop, Melbourne, 1989
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
The Woven Language of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop
Catalogue produced by the Victorian Tapestry Workshop to accompany an exhibition of the same name.
Exhibition History
Contemporary Australian Tapestry: Miniature panels from the Victorian Tapestry Workshop (Victoria and Albert Museum 25/07/1993-25/07/1993)
Production Note
Reason For Production: Exhibition
Materials
Cotton (textile)
Techniques
Tapestry
Subjects depicted
Women
Categories
Textiles; Tapestry
Production Type
Unique
Collection code
T&F
