The Toledo Museum of Art’s classically inspired Great Gallery, home to a muscular collection of Baroque masterworks by artists such as Rubens and Poussin, might seem a daring place to install a massive contemporary fiber art installation. But during a preparatory site visit, Gabriel Dawe was immediately drawn to the space and responded with Plexus no. 35 (2016), a temporary, site-specific work. (He’s also done commissions for TED, the Courtauld Institute, and the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery.) Dawe engages in apparent visual alchemy, transforming substance into light; despite the magical effects, he is willing to divulge some, if not all, of his secrets. Born in Mexico City, Dawe has been working with fiber since childhood. His grandmother taught his sister how to embroider; but, believing it to be an exclusively feminine pursuit, she wouldn’t teach Gabriel, who stole string and worked out the process on his own. …see the entire article in the print version of October’s Sculpture magazine.
