Blanket, Merton

Both the aesthetic and the working methods of the Bauhaus weavers have strongly influenced Harriet Wallace-Jones and Emma Sewell. They keep traditional dobby looms in their London studio, Wallace Sewell, which they use to work out their ideas. All of their products, however, are woven on power looms. Wallace-Jones and Sewell are inspired by the capabilities and the limitations of traditional weaving and have a broad range of skills for translating their hand-woven ideas into industrial techniques to maximize efficiency at the mill. Combining a fascination for woven structure, an intuitive understanding of yarn properties, and a masterful color sense, Wallace Sewell creates such a variety of colors and textures within each fabric that each one feels bespoke.
Employing a simple doublecloth structure, like a traditional coverlet, and twisting together single-ply yarns to develop a sophisticated palette of browns, greens, and blue-grays, this lambswool blanket has an abstract composition that calls to mind the early tapestry work of Anni Albers and Gunta Stölzl. The use of color mixing and the overall columnar aspect of the design also relate beautifully to the Asante strip-woven cloths of Ghana.

Blanket, Merton; Designed by Wallace Sewell; England; wool; H x W: 154.9 x 184.5 cm (5 ft. 1 in. x 6 ft. 5/8 in.); Gift of Wallace Sewell; 2013-8-1