Marilyn Henrion: Continuous Exploration

Marilyn HenrionTSGNY: Have you always been a fiber artist?

Marilyn Henrion: I was originally a painter after graduating from Cooper Union in 1952. However, having four children in rapid succession while working full time kept me from pursuing my own creative work for over twenty years. When I returned, textiles spoke to me in a way that paint never had, and that became my medium of choice.

"Patchwork City 26," 2016, 36" x 24", linen collage.

“Patchwork City 26,” 2016, 36″ x 24″, linen collage.

TSGNY: What was it about textiles that spoke to you?

MH: The tactile quality of the fabrics is greatly satisfying to work with in a way I didn’t find in painting. To me, something about the surface texture of the finished work is more accessible and visually appealing than any other medium.

"Patchwork City 65," 2017, 36" x 24", linen collage.

“Patchwork City 65,” 2017, 36″ x 24″, linen collage.

TSGNY: How would you describe your earlier textile work?

MH: Up until around 2006, I was creating hand-quilted pieced works. The style was geometric abstraction. My aesthetic was deeply rooted in the urban geometry of my surroundings as a native New Yorker, as it still is today.

"Patchwork City 60," 2016, 36" x 18", linen collage.

“Patchwork City 60,” 2016, 36″ x 18″, linen collage.

TSGNY: While your current work is still rooted in urban geometry, photography now plays a major role. How did that come about?

MH: My creative process is always evolving, and my current work reflects that. I’m still incorporating the method of piecing fabrics that was present in my earlier quilted works, but the more recent works take advantage of new technologies: digital image manipulation and pigment printing on fabrics. Working with my own photographs of urban architecture, I digitally manipulate the images which are then printed on fabric (linen or silk). In some cases, I also incorporate the hand quilting you would find in my earlier works, but I would call the resulting works mixed media rather than quilting.

"Patchwork City 28," 2016, 36" x 24", silk collage with hand quilting.

“Patchwork City 28,” 2016, 36″ x 24″, linen and silk collage with hand quilting.

TSGNY: Are you setting out to photograph specific parts of the city, or are you gathering images more spontaneously?

MH: I use my iPhone to photograph the city as I walk around. Most of the images are derived from the cast-iron buildings of my Soho neighborhood and lower Manhattan, where unexpected visual treats lurk around every corner.

"Patchwork City 66," 2017, 48" x 24", linen collage.

“Patchwork City 66,” 2017, 48″ x 24″, linen collage.

TSGNY: What prompted you to explore this new direction?

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MH: I belong to a gallery that gives members a solo exhibition every two years. For me, that means making a new body of work for each solo show. Every two years since 2000 I’ve explored a new subject or idea, and sometimes a new method of presentation. The collage technique I’m using in “Patchwork City” evolved from the necessity of continuous exploration.

"Patchwork City 67," 2017, 48" x 24", linen collage.

“Patchwork City 67,” 2017, 48″ x 24″, linen collage.

TSGNY: What were you doing before “Patchwork City”?

MH: In the preceding series, “Soft City,” I was using urban images derived from my manipulated photographs, but as “whole cloth” hand-quilted silk works wrapped on canvas substrate. I used hand stitching to animate the surface of the works and reveal the city’s soft side, the beautiful and complex patina of each façade. The irregular qualities inherent in the materials and construction humanizes the urban geometry.

"Broadway Windows," 50" x 40" , digitally manipulated photography, inkjet printing on cotton, hand quilting.

“Broadway Windows,” 2013, 50″ x 40″ , digitally manipulated photography, inkjet printing on cotton, hand quilting.

MH: For the new series, I print the images on linen, cut them apart in random strips, and re-assemble them to create collages on stretched canvas that convey the cacophony of ever-changing urban landscape. Although some of the new works also incorporate hand quilting, most are primarily fabric collage on canvas substrate, with no stitching.

"Patchwork City 73," 2017, 48" x 24", linen collage.

“Patchwork City 73,” 2017, 48″ x 24″, linen collage.

TSGNY: It sounds like you welcome the challenges of this two-year cycle.

MH: The challenges keep the work interesting: exploring variations on a theme, experimenting with various methods of presentation. And the labor-intensive nature of my methods — the mathematics of measuring and piecing, scaling a sketch to actual size — which might be a challenge to some, is a joyful, meditative experience for me.

"Patchhwork City 61," 2016, 20" x 10", linen collage

“Patchhwork City 61,” 2016, 20″ x 10″, linen collage

TSGNY: Do you envision taking the photographic work in any other directions?

MH: I’m finding that my current collage works lend themselves to reproduction very well, especially on brushed aluminum. i am exploring the possibilities of marketing a line of limited edition custom-sized prints targeted to an audience that appreciates my work but cannot afford to purchase originals.

"Patchwork City 60", 2017, 48" x 24", linen collage.

“Patchwork City 62″, 2017, 48″ x 24”, linen collage.

TSGNY: Thank you, Marilyn. You can see more of Marilyn’s work on her website. A documentary DVD about her work and life, including her interactions with luminaries such as Joseph Cornell, Claes Oldenburg, Tom Wesselman, and the Beat Poets, is available here.

"Patchwork City 25," 2016, 36" x 18", linen collage.

“Patchwork City 25,” 2016, 36″ x 18″, linen collage.