Françoise Grossen

Biography

“Like life, the big question is always the beginning and the end. Starting is easy—you have a rope—which is endless—but stopping means cutting it.” -Françoise Grossen

Françoise Grossen was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1943. She studied architecture for a year at the Polytechnical University, Lausanne, Switzerland (1962–63) before becoming a textile major at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland (1963–1967).

In 1963 Grossen spent six months as a French instructor in a professional school in the Democratic Republic of Congo and lived in Gabon for two years, an experience that would influence her later career.

Upon her return from Gabon in 1967, Grossen received her degree in Textile Design from Kunstgewerbeschule. In 1968 she moved to the United States to study with Professor Bernard Kester at UCLA, where she received an M.A. in 1969. Shortly after graduating from UCLA, Grossen moved to New York City to work for Jack Lenor Larsen Inc. It was Larsen who gave Grossen her first show in his showroom on east 59th Street. As her own work and commissions began to take off, Grossen left Larsen Inc. to establish her own studio practice, and to teach workshops at venues around the world. The artist received her American citizenship in 1983, and from 1980 to 2002 Grossen worked and lived in a studio near Almería in southern Spain. In 2002 Grossen returned to New York City where she continues to live and work.

Artwork

“With weaving you need a loom. I always felt freer working with just my hands. Starting at the top and working my way down.” -Françoise Grossen

Grossen's work breaks away from the wall, rejecting traditional approaches to textile-based work. The artist is best known for her large architectural sculptures made from materials including manila rope and sisal, most of which hang freely from the ceiling. Travels to Africa influenced the braiding, plaiting and knotting techniques present in many of her works.

Shortly after arriving in the United States, Grossen was included in the seminal 1969 Wall Hangings exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, where her large-scale fiber sculptures stood alongside works by contemporaries like Sheila Hicks, Claire Zeisler, Lenore Tawney and Eva Hesse. Around the same time she received international recognition at the IV Biennale International de la Tapisserie in Lausanne, Switzerland. Grossen went on to exhibit at subsequent International de la Tapisserie Biennales (V-VIII). Throughout the 1970s and 80s the artist had solo exhibitions at the Museum Bellerive, Zurich, Switzerland, The Hadler Galleries in New York City, Kaplan Baumann Gallery in Los Angeles, Reed College Art Galleries in Portland, Oregon, and the Musee d'Art et d'Histoire, Neuchatel, Switzerland. Grossen's most recent solo exhibition was at Blum & Poe in New York City, June 4 - August 14, 2015. Recent group exhibitions include Fiber: Sculpture 1960–Present, which was held at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston and traveled to the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH and the Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA (2014–2015) and Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947-2016 held at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, Los Angeles.

Over the course of her career, Grossen has created numerous large scale works for public places, institutions, corporate offices and hotels in New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Boston, Texas, California, and abroad. Her work is in international public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Smithsonian Institution, Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC; and the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Selected solo exhibitions

Selected group exhibitions

Museum collections

Recognition