Bamian

Hicks’s large-scale, three-dimensional fiber sculptures combine abstraction with the sensuousness of materials and forms. With its cascading lengths, colorful wrapping, and twisted ends, Bamian reflects the artist’s mastery at combining materials (wool and acrylic yarns) and techniques (plying and wrapping).

A pioneer in the post-war fiber movement, Hicks was first a student of painter Josef Albers at Yale University, from whom she gained a deep appreciation for color properties and material explorations. Like other artists of the nascent fiber movement, she became inspired by South American textiles. In the 1950s and 60s, Hicks spent time in South America and Mexico, where she worked with local weavers and explored traditional textile techniques, such as wrapped warps.