Magdalena Abakanowicz - Everything is made of fiber

17 April 2025 T/M 23 August 2025

Installation art pioneer Magdalena Abakanowicz and her extraordinary oeuvre deserve a grand stage. Step into an impressive universe of monumental textile sculptures that blur the boundaries between art and nature.

Triptych - Great, greater, greatest

The complete story of Abakanowicz's work, life and legacy will be told at three locations in Brabant this spring: Het TextielMuseum, Het Noordbrabants Museum and the provinciehuis Noord-Brabant. ‘Everything is made of fibre’ is part of this triptych titled ‘ Great, greater, greatest - Magdalena Abakanowicz’. More information about this unique collaboration and joint activities can be found on the overarching website www.grootsinbrabant.nl. This page will be further completed in the coming weeks.

Plan your visit

About the exhibition

Perhaps her name does not immediately ring a bell, but the Polish Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930 - 2017) is one of the greatest artists of the last century. She gained worldwide fame with her sculptures, broached subjects that are still relevant today and left an impressive oeuvre that still inspires many artists.

Abakanowicz was fascinated by the texture of textiles and the structure of natural fibres. She used this fascination as a basis for her weavings, but also to depict the human body. She travelled all over the world to set up her exhibitions herself and placed the sculptures in the middle of the space to create an ‘environment’, a world of her own. With this spatial concept, she was one of the forerunners of installation art

"Art will remain the most astonishing activity of mankind born out of struggle between wisdom and madness, between dream and reality in our mind."

Magdalena Abakanowicz

Red Abakan III, Magdalena Abakanowicz, 1970-1971. Photo: Arnaud Conne
Magdalena Abakanowicz by Marek Holzman, copyright estate Marek Holzman, the Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation
Backs, 1976-1980, Tate Images
Diptère, 1967, ASOM Collection, photo by Rafal Maslow

Making process

Abakanowicz left the traditional tapestry far behind and instead placed her sculptural forms in the middle of a space. Her works were so innovative that there was no description of them. They were therefore named after their creator; Abakans.

Abakanowicz's studio, workshop and home in Warsaw remained in its original state after her death in 2017. We visited these places and spoke to her former assistants, who still maintain these places and look after a collection of her works. In the expo, you can see a video - mostly shot in Warsaw - in which they talk about Abakanowicz's working methods.

Artur Starewicz/East News Wystawa Magdaleny Abakanowicz, Pawilon Polski, 39 Miedzynarodowa Wystawa Sztuki w Wenecji (la Biennale di Venezia), 1980. N/z: "Plecy" (Backs) z cyklu Alteracje - konopie, zywica / burlap, resin, w glebi Magdalena Abakanowicz Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska

Brabant pays tribute

Het Noordbrabants Museum shows Abakanowicz's work in relation to world history and today. Her work is displayed alongside that of modern artists such as Anish Kapoor, Kimsooja, Marlene Dumas and Kader Attia. Especially for the exhibition, choreographer Nicole Beutler will create a dance performance and a new film by Kristina Benjocki and Stijn Verhoeff will premiere.

A spectacular work by Abakanowicz can be seen at the provinciehuis Noord-Brabant in ‘s-Hertogenbosch: Bois le Duc (1970-1971). This monumental artwork consists of 19 woven strips, each over 7 metres high and 22 metres wide. It was specially made for the hall, designed by architect Maaskant. Although the space is not normally open to the public, there will be special programmes during this exhibition, including guided tours, films and an international symposium. A unique opportunity to experience this impressive work up close!

Supported by

This programme of exhibitions and activities is made possible by the generous support of the Province of Noord-Brabant, the Municipality of ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Municipality of Tilburg, the VriendenLoterij, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, The Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation, the Abakanowicz Arts and Culture Charitable Foundation, the Barbas-van der Klauw Cultural Fund, the Mondriaan Fund and the Blockbusterfonds.

The TextielMuseum collaborated for this exhibition with co-curator Marta Kowalewska, chair of the advisory board of The Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation and expert on Abakanowicz's oeuvre.

The exhibition ‘Magdalena Abakanowicz - Everything is made of fibre’ has been organised in collaboration with the Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation, Warsaw, Poland.