Silk Art Exhibition in Ménerbes this Summer

Until the end of September, La Vie en Soie II is an installation of textile creations by artist Joanna Staniszkis in Ménerbes. Located in Hotel de Tingry on Rue Cornille, next to the historic Dora Maar House, the exhibition includes recent works by Staniszkis, a Canadian who has lived in the Luberon at least part-time since 1996.

Silk Art Exhibition

Taking advantage of the variety of spaces in the 18th-century Hotel de Tingry, the show studies the evolution of silk in the Luberon Valley. Moving from the dramatic entry hall draped with a canopy of silk, each room in the house explores this incredible fibre born from silkworms and an industry that has disappeared in the South of France.

Joanna Staniszkis Artist

Staniszkis first encountered the South of France in 1981, which began a multi-year, long-distance relationship from her home in Vancouver, Canada. This award-winning textile artist worked as a professor at the University of British Columbia until her retirement in 2007.

So one could say that Joanna Staniszkis is attracted to Provencal ruins. The first of these “fixer-uppers” was in charming Saignon. Unfortunately, the property was in total disrepair, it had no roof, and its neighbours were a 10th-century chapel and the remains of a medieval castle. However, after a decade, she moved to Bonnieux, undertaking an even larger restoration project. Today, she lives in a small village near Cavaillon, focusing less on construction and more on her silk designs. Over the years, as Staniszkis delved into her art form, she also studied the progression of silk to a luxurious fibre from her silkworms.

Read more about this talented artist in Monte Cristo Magazine.

Exhibition Details:

La Vie en Soie II is an exhibition of recent works by textile artist Joanna Staniszkis. Her works present conceptually driven interrogations around the rich history of silk production in the Luberon.

Complementing the exhibition is a photo essay by Canadian artist Deborah MacNeill, whose work pays tribute to the ancient mulberry trees of the Luberon, standing remnants of silk’s glorious past.

The exhibition runs from June 27 – September 30, 2022
Wednesdays and Saturdays 11 AM-1 PM and 2-6 PM
Or by appointment at +33 (0)4 80 72 54 70, mmercurio@maisondoramaar.org.

Image Credits: All photos were provided by and published with the permission of Joanna Staniszkis.