‘Sheila Hicks has just turned 89. She’s in great shape and very busy in her studio in Paris – her adopted home since 1964. Born in 1934 in Hastings, Nebraska, she has now spent more time in France than in the United States.

‘Hicks graduated from Yale, where she studied painting with Josef Albers in the 1950s. Thanks to the German artist she obtained a grant to travel to Chile, and from there began a long journey through Latin America. Textile work had always been part of Hicks’ practice, but it was through her discovery of pre-Columbian weavings and the various local weaving techniques that she made fibers her material of choice.

‘After her studies, she decided to return to South America and settled in Mexico for a few years. When considering where to go next, she alighted upon Paris: the capital’s artistic ebullience being a large part of its appeal. In France, the medium of tapestry enjoys a long historical tradition spearheaded by the Manufacture des Gobelins. Indeed Hicks set up her first studio just next door to the factory, on the Quai des Grands Augustins, but her visionary spirit was soon to take her into realms far beyond the traditional confines of the medium.

‘A few years ago, we did a project with Hicks for Art Basel in Basel [Sheila Hicks, The Treaty of Chromatic Zones, Art Basel Unlimited, 2015]. When the opportunity to present a new project at Paris+ par Art Basel arrived, the planets aligned. We began by looking at all the options. The Parvis de l’Institut de France – the location that was finally chosen – was an obvious choice. It’s just a few steps from Hicks’ studio, down the rue de Seine, where she lived when she first moved here.

‘The title of the installation is VERS DES HORIZONS INCONNUS (2023). The work conveys the idea of elevation and verticality. Designed to be shown outdoors, it is made from high-tech synthetic fibers and is part of a series of colorful columns that has been shown around the world, from Sydney to Tokyo, via Houston and elsewhere. The series was included in her solo exhibition last year at Hepworth Wakefield in the UK, and more recently still, at the Château de Menthon-Saint-Bernard on the shores of Lake Annecy this summer.

‘I have a special relationship with Hicks: we’ve been working together for a long time and we’re both in Paris. At the moment, she and I are preparing a double exhibition in Germany at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and the Josef Albers Museum in Bottrop. The latter will take place in September 2024.’

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Sheila Hicks will present VERS DES HORIZONS INCONNUS (2023) at the Parvis de l’Institut de France. The project is presented by galerie frank elbaz (Paris), with Meyer Riegger (Berlin, Karlsruhe), and Massimo Minini (Brescia), as part of the public program of Paris+ par Art Basel 2023. It will be on view from October 8 to 25, 2023.

Ingrid Luquet-Gad is an art critic and PhD candidate based in Paris. She is the arts editor of Les Inrockuptibles, a contributing editor at Spike art magazine, and a journalist for Flash Art.

Published on October 5, 2023.

Caption for full-bleed image: Parvis de l'Institut de France. Photograph by Aliki Christoforou for Art Basel.

English translation: Art Basel.