Design for Jacquard fabric book cover of Tkanina Polska (Polish Fabric)
Magdalena Abakanowicz
Polish, 1930–2017
1952
A hand-drawn plan in pencil and ink on graph paper for a Jacquard-woven book-cover, made to translate a geometric motif into precise instructions for a loom.
A dense printed grid dominates the page, while a darker, star-like pattern seems to float across it—its radiating arms formed by shaded squares and the artist’s uneven marks, with marginal notes and binding holes reminding you this is a working design.
It shows how mid-20th-century designers turned abstract forms into technical patterns for industrial looms, linking modernist aesthetics with the practical systems that made textiles reproducible.
Medium
Pencil and ink on graph paper
Dimensions
sheet: 5 11/16 × 6 1/8" (14.5 × 15.5 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Mary-Jane Jacob and Clayton Lewis
Accession
438.2024
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
