Sheila Hicks: Migdalor

Curator: Karmit Galili

Magasin III Museum & Foundation for Contemporary Art in Stockholm is pleased to announce Migdalor by Sheila Hicks, the second exhibition in its permanent satellite space in Jaffa, greater Tel Aviv since it opened in January 2018. The solo exhibition features Hicks’ distinctive installation of vibrantly colored sculptures in materials ranging from the traditional and natural, such as linen silk and cotton, to newly researched industrial materials based on advanced technologies. 

Sheila Hicks is an internationally renowned artist of American origin, based in Paris since the mid-1960s with a career spanning six decades. She is known for her groundbreaking works in both monumental and intimate scales and has redefined art boundaries through her unpredictable practice. Inspired early in her career by pre-Columbian textiles and Bauhaus teaching, Hicks is constantly innovating by transforming and adapting her original work to inhabit wide ranging and challenging environments.

Migdalor, curated by Karmit Galili from Magasin III Jaffa, features three significant works by Hicks: a colossal installation Saffron Sentinel (2017) is made of bundles of pure pigmented fiber assembled into mounds of textured and brilliantly colored masses, freely stacked, honoring the laws of gravity. Also on view will be Comets Sculpture (2016–18) a bas-relief of multiple circular disks in a range of sizes, hand wrapped with brilliantly tinted yarns and textile fragments. The third work, titled Menhir (2016), is a soft column made of kilometers of linen strands.

Hicks chose the exhibition title Migdalor ("Lighthouse" in Hebrew) to reference her search for meaning of lasting value in different cultures. The lighthouse metaphor can be traced to the 1970s when she spent long periods weaving on the island of Ouessant in Brittany amidst the lighthouses beaming their high-powered signals to guide ships through treacherous waters. Her celebrated exhibition installations have often included abstractions of the form and symbolism of these emblazoned sentries of civilizations. 

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the Israeli and international audience to experience the work of an artist whose fascination with new and unusual materials, together with her deep interest in traditional production of materials in various cultures, contributes to our cultural understanding,” says Karmit Galili.

About Sheila Hicks
Sheila Hicks was born in Hastings, Nebraska, she received her BFA and MFA degrees from the art school at Yale University when Josef Albers presided as director. A Fulbright scholarship to paint in Chile (1957-58) enabled her to pursue her interest in archeology, architecture and weaving. Subsequently she founded workshops in Mexico, Chile, France and South Africa, and worked extensively in Morocco and India. Since 1964 she has resided and worked in Paris. 

Hicks has exhibited internationally in solo and group exhibitions including the 2017 Venice Biennale, 2014 Whitney Biennial in New York, 2012 São Paulo Biennial, Sydney Biennial, Edinburgh Festival. Recent solo presentations include 2017-18 Lignes deVieat the Centre Pompidou in Paris, 2017-18 Free Threadsat Museo Amparo in Mexico, 2015 Palais de Tokyo in Paris; a major retrospective Sheila Hicks: 50 Years debuted at the Addison Gallery of American Art in Massachusetts and traveled to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia and the Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina. Scheduled to open in 2019 are large exhibitions in the Museo de Arte Pre-Colombino in Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru. Hicks' work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, New York City; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Art Institute of Chicago; The Joslyn Museum, Omaha; Tate Modern and Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; and the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

About Magasin III Jaffa
In January 2018 Magasin III opened a permanent satellite space in Jaffa, greater Tel Aviv, with an inaugural exhibition by Haim Steinbach. The space is located on 34 Olei Zion, in a residential neighborhood that borders with Jaffa’s famous flea market at the center of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim populations of Jaffa. Magasin III Jaffa’s diverse program will feature both local and international artists.

Intermission
Magasin III in Stockholm is currently closed as we examine alternative ways for the institution to engage with our public. 

For press enquiries please contact:
Jasmine Hersee, Sutton, jasmine@suttonpr.com, T +44 (0)207 183 3577