Robert WOGENSKY

Member of the A.P.C.T. (Association des Peintres-Cartonniers de Tapisserie), Wogensky was one of the many artists who devoted themselves to tapestry following Lurçat, in the immediate post-war period. First influenced by him, Wogensky’s work (159 Cartoons, after the 1989 exhibition catalogue) then evolved during the 1960s toward a lyrical abstraction that was not always fully embraced: from cosmic-astronomical themes to deconstructed, moving bird forms, and on to Cartoons that were more pared down and less dense. Although he always proclaimed himself to be a painter, the artist’s reflection on tapestry was highly developed: “Réaliser un carton mural…. c’est penser en fonction d’un espace qui ne nous appartient plus, par ses dimensions, son échelle, c’est aussi l’exigence d’un geste large qui transforme et accentue notre présence”. The omnipresent bird theme most often received an abstract, kinetic translation in Wogensky’s work. Lines, trajectories, forces, energies,… are the descriptors used by critics and commentators at the time. Yet, with his “Trois oiseaux blancs” (motif later taken up with “Plein vol” in 1982), the artist returned to a more figurative approach to the subject, in which wings, beaks, and tails were legible, though fleeting. Bibliography : Cat. Expo. Oiseaux solaires, oiseaux marins, tapisseries de Robert Wogensky, Paris, galerie la Demeure, n°2 ill. Cat. Expo. Robert Wogensky, l’oeuvre tissé, Aubusson, Musée départemental de la tapisserie, 1989 Cat. Expo. Robert Wogensky, Angers, Musée Jean Lurçat et de la Tapisserie Contemporaine, 1989-1990