Figure / in lace / in confrontation

Figure / in lace / in confrontation.

Historical and contemporary lace with figural motifs

Gočár Gallery Pardubice

Curator: Radek Martinek

14 May – 16 September 2025

Handmade lace belongs to the old textile arts. Its modern history traces back to the second half of the 16th century, namely in Venice, from where its popularity spread to other countries. Of the many techniques it was initially the sewn method that dominated, but later it was the bobbin lace technique. However, lace did not just portray ornamental motifs, nor was it only used as an accessory to dresses. Lace became the ‘art of detail’, requiring the observer to focus on the pattern in order to glimpse the figures of people and animals, often drawing on biblical themes as well as ancient mythology and contemporary life. We see them on both small-scale and, above all, monumental interior lace, which complemented temple spaces and aristocratic palaces, as it was one of the most costly expressions of applied art. Although machine production resulted in handmade lace becoming marginalised, in the last century it has been transformed into an ultimate expression of authentic studio textile production, often with spatial and monumental effects, where motifs of human and animal figures are gaining importance and effectiveness.

This chamber exhibition emphasises the imaginary contrast between historical lace of the 16th-20th centuries with figurative motifs, originating from both private collectors  and the Vamberk Lace Museum collection, and the contemporary figurative, often ‘portrait’ lace work by textile artists Zuzana and Marie Hromadová.

Handmade lace is one of the oldest textile arts. To create a lace today, not only thread but, most importantly, talent, skill and infinite patience are needed. Although delicate works woven from thread could be already found in ancient Egypt, Greece and Byzantium, the history of lace itself began later in Venice after the fall of Constantinople. Simple ornamental motifs initially predominated, but human and animal figures soon began to appear in the design, which became more sophisticated as lace-making techniques developed. However, lace remains the art of detail, which requires the observer to focus to be able to glimpse the figures in the ornament.

From the second half of the 16th century onwards, lace was no longer a mere accessory decorating the edges of garments, but began to be used as a representative functional solitaire in manor houses and monumental religious spaces. Here, lace was especially appreciated for its monochrome transparency giving the impression of almost transparent lightness, which, however, broke the occasional heaviness of overdecorated representative spaces with equal effectiveness. In lace design we can encounter a great variety of human and animal figures, which create a natural interaction between each other and allow us to enter into old familiar stories, whether drawing on biblical texts or ancient sagas. Church lace naturally features the main stories from the lives of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints, but even more often angels and a variety of symbolic animals. Outside the temple setting, there were also characters from ancient mythology (e.g. the popular centaurs). However, these often competed with popular hunting scenes and, last but not least, figures of engaged couples – thus celebrating life par excellence.

The art of lace-making is still alive, although since the end of the second half of the 19th century most lace has been machine-made. During the 20th century, however, authentic studio work using traditional and new techniques, as well as traditional and new materials, has grown in importance. Lace has mostly moved away from its original complementary decorative function and become an independent, often spatial and monumental work of art, where the motifs of human and animal figures have become even more important.

This chamber exhibition will present historical lace of the 16th-20th centuries with figural motifs from private collections, the collection of the Vamberk Lace Museum and the contemporary lace-making techniques favoured by the Hradec Králové textile artists Marie and Zuzana Hromadová. The exhibition was created as part of the broader NAKI research project Fibres of Memory. The past and present of Vamberk lace making.