Marie Hazard

b. in 1994 in Le Havre, France. Lives and works in Paris.

After completing studies at the Atelier de Sèvres in Paris, Marie Hazard went to London to pursue textile design at Central Saint-Martins. Her medium of choice is weaving: before taking to her own loom, she assisted American artist Sheila Hicks, a leading figure of the textile art movement of the 60s. Hicks is known for her innovative revival of traditional weaving practices. Weaving had long been considered more craft than art, but weaving techniques would enter the vocabulary of contemporary fine art through the work of Bauhaus artists such as Annie Albers, and later, the Arte Povera movement, including the work of Alighiero Boetti.

In a world where textiles are usually associated with industrial production, Marie Hazard advocates slowing down and returning to the fundamental principles and pace of craftwork. Somewhere between painting, sculpture, and installation, the meticulousness required of Hazard’s woven work in no way precludes spontaneity. Hazard draws her inspiration from contemporary culture and fashion in particular, keeping abreast of its historical evolution, techniques, and applications. By printing professional basketball jerseys onto her woven pieces, for example, she invites viewers to see them in a new light by evoking their utilitarian function and tactile pleasure.

Beyond the tactile properties of cloth, Marie Hazard uses the technique of weaving as a narrative medium. The etymological origins of the French word tisser (to weave), deriving from the Latin texere (to write) bring this idea to fore. Thus, from her loom, Marie Hazard literally weaves elements of her personal life – fragments of text, drawings, and even photographs – into a sort of diary that speaks of her world and of the world around her.