Sun thief
Aubusson tapestry woven by the Legoueix workshop.
With its selvedge signed by the artist, no. 5/6.
Circa 1970.
Initially a sculptor, working with a wide variety of materials (steel, concrete, ceramics, etc.), Borderie discovered a passion for tapestry in the 1950s, commissioning his first cartoon in 1957. Encouraged by Denise Majorel, he received the Grand Prix National de la Tapisserie (National Tapestry Grand Prize) in 1962. In 1974, he was appointed director of the École Nationale des Arts Décoratifs (National School of Decorative Arts) in Aubusson, a position he resigned from very quickly. He created nearly 500 painted, abstract cartoons with simple forms, rendered in a limited color palette, using large-point weaving techniques.
Dynamic abstraction, chromatic range between orange and brown, same concerns around light (and shadow) as in "the weapons of light" (and as in Matégot): a classic cartoon by André Borderie.
Bibliography:
Exhibition catalog: André Borderie “for man simply”, Angers, Jean Lurçat Museum and Contemporary Tapestry, 1998;
Exhibition catalog: André Borderie and Aubusson tapestry, Aubusson, Saint-Jean Manufactory, 2018
