Laurie Wohl

Laurie Wohl is an internationally-known fiber artist. Her Unweavings® fiber art are held in the collections of the Museum of Arts and Design (NYC), the American Bible Society (NYC), The Constitutional Court of South Africa, and Catholic Theological Union (Chicago), among others. Her works have also been on long-term loan to the United States Embassies in Beirut, Vienna, Tunis, Cape Town and Pretoria.

She has accomplished a number of liturgical projects. Fourth Presbyterian Church (Chicago) commissioned The Psalms Project - 12 major works for its sanctuary – which was completed in 2008. Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church (NYC) commissioned the Talbot Bible Stoles project - four works for its sanctuary, which were completed and installed in 2005. Monmouth Reform Temple (NJ) commissioned a piece for the entrance to its sanctuary, which was installed in 2006. In 2003, Ms. Wohl received an Honor Design Award for The Psalms Project, from the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture (AIA).

Wohl’s work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions, including the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art, Hebrew Union College, and Atelier International (NYC), the South Bend Regional Museum of Art, Center for Arts and Performance at Wisconsin Lutheran College, and Catholic Theological Union (Chicago). Ms. Wohl has curated a number of interfaith and multi-cultural exhibitions, including “With Many Voices” (Fourth Presbyterian Church) and “Art from Soweto” (ARC Gallery and Catholic Theological Union). Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, she has given a series of lectures and workshops in Soweto, Johannesburg, and Pretoria, South Africa. She has also given numerous lectures and workshops in the United States on issues of art and faith, art and resistance to apartheid, and textile as narrative/ritual. Among her special projects has been an interactive set design for a full-length dance piece, “Unweavings,” for Jan Erkert & Dancers. Ms. Wohl lives and works in New York City. For more information on visit lauriewohl.com.

Laurie Wohl, Ne'ilah

Arts and Culture

Unweavings

By Laurie Wohl

My Unweavings® fiber art pieces convey narratives through form, color, texture, and calligraphy. The words within each piece and the unwoven form that suggests these words serve as a visual midrash, evoking the poetry of various Biblical texts. The unwoven spaces form symbolic shapes – wings, prayer shawls, veils, falling waters, and the sacred architecture of windows, domes, and gates.