Art is interactive. Using classical realism painting techniques from the old Italian Renaissance Masters, I search for what we share in common, finding the uniqueness in people and objects while emphasizing the dynamics between them in symbolic ways. People are my muses. They intrigue me to find meaning, making my interpretations through non-verbal, visual commentaries.

Artists witness society, describing it either abstractly or realistically through the vehicles of color, light and shade, texture and the emotions they evoke. My work incorporates elements from nature and daily life. I add humor, the common, and the absurd into my paintings whose titles often give clues to the dialogue. Sometimes they are intentionally composed, other times they occur organically. Tropical colors are my passion. My oil paints make visual music. I use simple and extreme lighting to create drama.

I’ve worked in a variety of mediums on three different continents for the past 46 years incorporating different architectural scales into pieces for the walls, interiors and fashion while using the hardness of bronze and clay, the softness of wool and silk, or Canvas with it’s colorful and muted oils. My artwork is collected & exhibited nationally and internationally in museums, and group shows. I’ve had numerous commissions, and grants. My work is published in a variety of books and publications both in the fine art world and fashion world.

Retuning to my first love of classical realistic and surrealistic oil painting, my work continues with similar related themes, expressed differently due to the variety of perceptions life experiences bring. I discover what we share in common, making our humanity visible while emphasizing nuances, which makes each person and object unique.

Annette Kaplan
March 12, 2017
Florence, Italy

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1984 Fulbright Grantee to Brazil – Grant extended to photograph in Argentina, 1985
1980 International World Art Directory (1980-1983)
1983 McNamara Grant – Alternate Finalist Economic Dev. Institute of the World Bank
1983 Fulbright Grant Alternate Candidate
1981 Dictionary of Women Artists compiled by Prof. Lamia Documato, U Colorado.
1976 National Endowment for the Arts Grant, (1976-1977).
1975 National Endowment for the Arts Grant, (1975-1976)
1971 Numerous prizes and commissions for Tapestries (1971-1983)
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Annette Kaplan’s prolific artistic career spans over five decades. During this time, she has lived on three different continents and continues to produce works of art, pushing the boundaries both as a tapestry designer and weaver and now as an oil painter. Annette creates pieces that are a melding of classical art with a modern interpretation.

Highly regarded for her bold, colorful, realistic, and abstract expressions, Annette’s artwork is innovative, avant-garde, and contemporary – united by related themes, flowing melodic lines, and the use of automatism.

Annette explores the dynamics of relationships between people and societies, their order, visibility, and disarray. Using objects as symbols to talk about our mythologies and metaphors, her art enlightens environments and engages people to explore their thoughts and views.

Initially trained in Bauhaus Minimalism, Annette’s work reflects a fusion of realism and dimensional abstraction. She received formal training from California College of the Arts, 1971, and Angel Academy of Art, Florence, Italy, 2017. Her Fine Art Architectural Scaled Tapestries have won much acclaim. She is a Fulbright Scholar, twice an NEA Grantee, an alternative for a MacArthur Foundation Grant, and was a finalist with Robert Motherwell for a commission.

Annette’s works are in The Smithsonian, The Phillips Collection, GSA, IBM, Novartis, and numerous other public, private, and permanent art collections, nationally and internationally. She has received many commissions and has been published in the US Fine Art World and the Brazilian High-End Fashion World.

Annette has enjoyed successful collaborations with architects, interior designers, and fashion designers. Apart from her artistic inventions, she enjoys interpreting clients’ ideas while creating elegant visual solutions.

Complete CV

Selected Permanent Collections in USA

2014 Alexis Smith, NYC.NY. Drawing.
2011 Novartis Permanent Art Collection.
2006 Kendall Jackson Art Collection.
1997 Kendal Jackson Art Collection – Serigraph on Silk. Santa Rosa, Ca.
1990 Elizabeth Arden, New York City NY. Sale of scarves.
1986 Phillip Bloom, New York, NY. Tapestry and Bronze Sculpture.
1986 Silvia Maricochi, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Drawings.
1985 Susan Pearlstine and Bruce Foster, Charleston, South Carolina. Imperial Skywalker -painting January.
1984 Rick Eastman, Santa Rosa, California. Tapestry.
1984 Carl Ramatt. Pleasanton CA. Serigraph, Watercolor and Abstract Drawing. Feb.
1984 Bruce Saxon, New York, NY. Photograph. February.
1983 Judah Magnus Museum Permanent Art Collection, Tapestry #165, “Shoshana/ Latada”. December
1983 David and Fran Frey. Tapestry #80. Squarambus. November.
1983 Alan Kean, London, England. Watercolor. November
1983 Joel Mark Cohen, Washington, DC, Commission Aubusson Tapestry. (Nov).
1983 Public Art Trust, Washington, DC, Listed in slide registry. (October).
1982 Suzanne Sachs Collection, Paris, France.
1982 DesignWare, Inc. Collection, San Francisco, California.
1982 Piero Mussi Collection, Berkeley, California.
1982 Mrs. D. Dolby Collection, San Francisco, California.
1982 Alan Kean Collection, London, England.
1982 Sir Roland Penrose Collection, London, England.
1981 IBM World Headquarters. Commission, Armonk, NY.
1981 Cavellini Collection, Italy. Guglielmo A Cavellini, Italian artist and art collector.
1980 Marvin Sloves Collection, New York, NY.
1979 Smithsonian Institution, Museum of History & Technology: Two Tapestries #79 “Pushme Pullyou Abstracted”, #71 “Pushme Pullyou” from series of 12 tapestries catalogued with the Smithsonian Institution as well. Washington, DC.
1979 Curator of Textiles, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Works and bibliography on file.
1978 National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington DC. Permanent Collection (Drawing)
1976 General Service Administration (GSA) Purchase for Health Education & Welfare Building, Washington, DC. #23 “Evolutionary Notes to WK”.
1976 General Services Administration (GSA Permanent Art Collection, Court House Building, New Orleans, Louisiana. Purchase #17 “Journey Two”.
1975 American Crafts Council Permanent Slide Collection.
1975 Contemporary Crafts of the Americas, Two-Year Traveling Slide Show Collection.
1974 Peter Collingwood Slide Collection, London, England. (Included in collection).

Selected Permanent Collections in Brazil

1986 Rosa and Elihau Chut, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Painting.
1986 Oswaldo Nery da Fonseca, Brasilia, Brazil.
1986 Dr. Edson Antonio de Oliveira, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Painting.1986
1985 Vera and Louis Carlos Batista Cavalcanti, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Paintings.
1985 Roberto Burle Marx, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Drawing.
1985 Gail Guillksen Art Collection, USA Cultural Attache, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Three. Drawings, March.
1984 Klaus Peters, Sao Paulo, Brazil.Watercolor BR1212 8″ x 6″ September 27,1984.
1984 Oglivy Mather, Irma Turtle, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Watercolor. March.
1984 Silvio Ferraz, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Watercolors March.
1984 Mauricio Segall, Museum Segall, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Watercolor March.
1982 Senator Fernando Henrique Cardoso Collection, Sao Paulo, Brazil (President of Brazil 1995-2002).
Complete PDF (Date Order) Complete PDF (Alphabetical Order)

Selected Publications in USA

1999 International Who’s Who of Professionals
1986 University Week, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Tapestry, January16.
1985 Shirley E. Held, A Handbook of Fiber Arts, c. 1978 1973 pg. 98.
1984 Lee Christiano, Editorial Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, January slides.
1984 Fulbright Finalist notification received. January.
1983 Art Diary – International World Art Directory. November Listing
1983 International World Art Directory. November
1982 Stanford University, Ca. Bay Area Artists: Eight Interviews, by D. Goldfine and N. Turner, July.
1982 Arteder 82, Bilbao Spain International Photographic Show, Published Book Section III Fotografia, pg. 891.
1981 Sotheby Park Bernet catalog 4546M, March 14, 1981.
1981 Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution Catalog, Animal Imagery Show.Highland Villager, January 28, 1981, St. Paul, Minnesota.
1981 Book, Pattern Devices for Handweavers, 1981, by Doramay Keasbey pub same. pg. 19, 40.
1981 Weaving Woman Dictionary of Women Artists,1981, compiled by Prof. Lamia Doumato,University of Colorado
1980 Review, Leslie Plumber, New York Arts Journal, Vol. 20, November 13, 1980.
1980 Review, Robin Baker, New York Daily News, November 12, 1980.
1980 Fine Art for Federal Buildings 1972-1979, National Collection of Fine Art, Across the Nation, published by the Smithsonian Institution, June 4, 1980, pp. 30 & 31.
1980 Article, American Craft, May 1980.
1980 “The Place of Art in the World of Architecture” by Donald W. Thalacker, Art and Architecture Program Director for GSA. Introduction, by Paul Goldberger, New York Times Architecture Critic. 1980.
1979 The Washington Post, Style Section, Dec. 16, 1979. Interview and photo.
1979 Article, Texas Architect Magazine, October 1979.
1979 Portfolio of Six Artists, American Craft Magazine, lead issue, June 1979, p. 46 Published by the American Crafts Council.
1979 Architecture in Art, Mention of G.S.A. purchases, G.S.A. Catalog, March 1979.
1978 Article, Craft Horizon Magazine, August 1978, p. 85.
1978 Article, The Cultural Post, N.E.A. Publication, issue 18, p. 20, August 1978.
1978 Article about Phillips Collection Show, What ís Up in Art, Alexandria, Virginia, April 1978.
1978 Review of the Phillips Collection Show, The Washington Post, Sun April 1978.
1978 Annette Kaplan Tapestries, Catalog, The Phillips Collection. Apr15-May 14,1978.
1977 Interview and photograph, Interior Design Magazine, May 19, 1977, p. 229
1975 Oakland Museum Christmas Art Exhibition, Oakland, California.
1975 Art Week, November 8, 1975, volume 6, # 38.
1975 Fiber 5, Dolph Baumann & Associates, Los Angeles, California.

Selected Publications in Brazil

1994 1994-1984 Published in Brazilian Fashion Magazines: Vogue • Elle • Claudia Moda • TV Globo, • TV Manchete, • Journal do Brazil • Brazil Herald
1993 Pareau on cover of Elle Magazine – Brazil
1988 Estilo of Journal do Brazil Caderno – July 2, 1988, Skirts – Maria Bonita.
1988 Magazine, Claudia Moda, No. 32 Ano VIII, pg. 112.
1988 Magazine, Claudia Moda, No. 40 Ano VIII.
1988 Magazine Domingo of Journal do Brazil, May 22, 1988, Ano 12, No 629, Pg. 34.
1988 TV Globo – Brazil. Shorts used on novela Mandala. Capitulo 139 May 1988.
1988 Interview TV 2 Program 1988 Jan. 14, 1988
1988 Various Scarves I designed for private clients are being used on Brazilian National TV programs, Novellas, International News, TV Globo and TV Manchete.
1987 Magazine Claudia Moda Fenatec Summer 87/88 pg. 4..
1987 Magazine Vogue Brazil Sept. 1987 No. 146 pg. 132, photographs and interview.
1987 Magazine O Hebreu Aug/Sept. 1987 No. 89, pg. 28.
1987 Magazine Toda Moda Ano 6 No. 93, February 1987, last page, Sericitextil.
1987 Journal do Brazil Caderno – pg. 10 Estilo skirt, Maria Bonita.
1987 Magazine Toda Moda Ano 6 – No. 92, Jan. 1987.
1987 Magazine Capricho pg. 18, dress made from fabric designed for DeMaia. Sao Paulo.
1987 Magazine Revista de Moda Ano 11 No 8, January 1987, pg. 31-32. Four textile designs, Brazil.
1986 Magazine Todo Modo Ano 6 – No. 92, October, Winter 1987. Last page, textile designs.
1986 Magazine Catalogo Moda Ano 11 No. 7, pg 10-11, Oct. 1986.
1986 Magazine Catalogo Moda Ano 11 No. 7, pg 10-11, Oct. 1986.
1985 Published Cover Design, magazine O Hebreu, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
1984 Lee Christiano, Editorial Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Januuary
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Comments About Annette Kaplan’s Tapestries

“. . . Ms. Kaplan has succeeded to a remarkable degree, in meeting the challenges of exceedingly complex mechanical devices. In addition to making a strong aesthetic statement, her work reflects her fascination with and thorough understanding of her medium.”

Rita Adrosko
Curator, Division of Textiles
Smithsonian Institution
February 28, 1978

 

“. . . Annette Kaplan is one of the highly talented and disciplined artists who have been inspired by the processes of a particular medium to create unique works of art . . .”

Elena Canavier Assistant for the Arts,
Mrs. Mondale’s Staff Office of the Vice President
(Formerly: Crafts Coordinator, Visual Arts, National Endowment for the Arts)
February1978

 

“. . .Your proposal . . was in the group of finalists considered by the Panel . . ..”

Price Gittinger Coordinator
McNamara Fellowship Program
Economic Development Institute of the World Bank
March 18, 1983

 

“. . . You have been selected as a candidate.”

Wayne S. Peterson, Chief American Republics Branch USIA
Fulbright Committee
April 7, 1983

 

“. . . Ms. Kaplan is a very well trained artist, as well as a seasoned and productive journeyman in a number of media. Her tapestry work is especially impressive.”

David Frey
Business Consultant & Art Collector
October 22, 1983

 

“Annette Kaplan’s black and white tapestries are striking. She has employed the possibilities offered, but seldom explored by artists, in using the jacquard loom. She is an inventive weaver, stimulated as an artist and as a technician to use the capability of her tools . . .”

Lloyd Herman, Director
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
December 3, 1980

 

“. . . Everyone is equally impressed with the high purpose and dedication she brings to her unique art form. She is indeed an artist that will produce memorable works . . .”

Samuel Phillips, Art Collector
November 23, 1981

 

“. . . she is a serious artist and has remarkable energy in pursuing new ideas which she can use creatively. The number of exhibitions of her work which she has presented attests both to her creativity and her energy in getting her work recognized.”

Lloyd Herman, Renwick Gallery
National Collection of Fine Arts
Smithsonian Institution
January 24, 1980

 

“The illustrations you sent of your works demonstrated to me that your tapestry shows research work and personal realization . . .”

Walter Zanini, General Curator
Fundacao Bienal de Sao Paulo
October 1982

 

“. . Ms. Kaplan has the most interesting didactic resources and a deep commitment to her work.”

Professor Anna Carolina K. P. Regner
Porto Alegre, Brazil
August 19893

 

Tapestries by Annette Kaplan were first exhibited in 1972, and her work is now in the Smithsonian Institution Art Collection, the Phillips Collection, the National Collection of Fine Arts and the Health, Education, and Welfare Building, all in Washington, D.C. Her art work also appears in the Gulf Resource Art Collection, Houston; IBM World Headquarters Art Collection, Armonk, New York; Bank of America Corporate Collection, San Francisco, Sir Roland Penrose, curator of the Picasso Estate, plus numerous other public and private collections in the United States, England, Spain, France, and Brazil.

Introduction

Tapestries and walls have long had a natural affinity for each other. The bright colors, soft textures and intricate patterns of fiber works contribute complementary qualities to solid walls of stone and concrete. Large textile wall hangings have also been used to provide physical as well as visual warmth – and, given the current energy crisis, insulation may once again become a factor in the selection of wall art.

The United States has had no major tradition of architectural tapestries – the great weaving studios have been and remain centered in Europe. Our textile arts have been associated with the useful fabrics of the home- woven bedspreads, embroideries, small rugs, and quilts- created by thrifty and artistic women.

Today, however, the textile arts in America are flourishing in new and innovative ways. Perhaps we can be thankful for the lack of a strong historical tradition in this area; for the contemporary works are being created by artists, not by artisans. The result is a rich and provocative outpouring of textile art. Instead of artisans faithfully executing cartoons drawn by painters, we have trained artists exploring the techniques, processes, methods and materials of the fiber media.

Annette Kaplan is one of the highly talented and disciplined artists who have been inspired by the processes of a particular medium to create unique works of art. Her inspiration came from the technology of production weaving.

Given the great and growing demand for architectural fiber works, it seems inevitable that we will soon have shops of highly specialized artisans executing the designs of artists. Therefore it seems that we should take special pleasure in the present time- and in this exhibition – for it marks a particular creative moment in the history of fiber art. A time when artist and artisan are one and the same, weaving both aesthetic and technical knowledge into the work.

Elena Canavier
Assistant for the Arts, Mrs. Mondale’s Staff
Office of the Vice President

 

Seen at Perlcol Gallery, the tapestries of Annette Kaplan are perhaps a bit different than most of contemporary fiber art as they do not emphasize texture; rather, their con­ centration is, like painting, design. This exhibit is a retrospective of works from 1974 to the present, with the pieces done up until 1979 executed mainly in back and white; after that, the artist began to work more extensively with color. The black and white pieces are rich in their special geometry; compelling effects are achieved through intricate fractured grids and sections of highlight.

Such an optic achievement gives an impression of dimensionality, particularly in the· instances where Kaplan turns the grid loose, allowing the pattern to branch out and develop along Its own lines. The technical constant of the medium, the loom, dictates the grid as being the structural basis for all the tapestries; it is the artist’s obvious skill which can modify that demand and adapt It for her own aims.

“Energies in Silver,” a horizontal that stretches thirteen feet along the wall at a height of five feet, is woven from wool and linen and is seen as a major breakthrough In the works that deal with color. Yellow, red, blue, black, and white strands soar through the composition in an asymmetric rhythm, sometimes in hard and sharp configurations, but more often in looser images that are found In the earlier work. The patterns are more intimate in tone and construction, as they are a visual translation of a musical score for piano and flute. Looking at “Energies In Silver,” one can almost hear the music to which it corresponds.

Annette Kaplan’s art Is very personal purposeful; she has chosen a difficult medium through which to express her thoughts and emotions, and has successfully done so with her extraordinary talents.

Comments on the Artist's Technicques

Annette Kaplan is one of the very few contemporary textile artists who has successfully used a loom equipped with a Jacquard mechanism.

This mechanism makes use of punched cards to control the development of woven patterns. After each interlacing of the design is plotted on graph paper and a card is punched for each horizontal line (weft), the Jacquard mechanism makes it possible to weave patterns with relatively little effort. Motifs can be handled as straight repeats or as vertical and/or horizontal mirror images. It is also possible to rearrange the order of the cards to form new designs.

The Jacquard was designed by Joseph Marie Jacquard in Lyon, France in 1804 as an aid to weavers of elaborately patterned silks. Until that time, drawlooms, which were used for the same purpose, required a weaver and one or two drawboys or drawgirls to lift different combinations of warp yarns in the process of weaving

large-scale patterns in brocarded cloths and damasks. The drawloom was less accurate and more time – and labor- consuming than the Jacquard which replaced it.

Ironically, Ms. Kaplan, in executing her most recent works, has gone back to a modern version of the drawloom, a loom she finds more flexible than the Jacquard. It also frees her from the demands of hand punching and setting up the Jacquard cards.

Ms. Kaplan has succeeded to a remarkable degree, in meeting the challenges of exceeding complex mechanical devices. In addition to making a strong aesthetic statement, her works reflect her fascination with and thorough understanding of her medium

Rita J Adrosko
Curator, Division of Textiles
Smithsonian Institution
February, 28, 1978

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Art Representation in USA & Brazil

2013-1994 Freelance Fine Artist, USA designing for commissioned artworks:
Designed Rugs for Roche Bobois; Designed Ceramic tile & plates at Heath Ceramics;
Printed on silk for private clients; Sold paintings.
1994-1984 Maria Candida Sarmento of Maria Bonita, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
1984 Susan Atherton, Los Angeles, California.( January)
1983 Shelly Guggenheim, Shelly Guggenheim Gallery.
1983 Galeria Bonino, NYC NY, Mrs. Fernanda Bonino ( October).
1983 Eve Mannes Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia. (September)
1983 The Stewart Gallery John Houston, , Dallas, Texas. (February)
1978 Galerie Denise Rene, New York, NY. (prior to her moved to Europe)
1978 Susan Caldwell Gallery, New York, NY.
1971 Modern Master Tapestries, New York, NY.
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