MUMBAI.- After a long period of private commissions, Monika Correa returns to a public exhibition of her tapestries. In this new work, she explores in even greater depth the concept she has been developing over the last many years: to remove the reed at a certain juncture in the weaving, so that the warp threads can meander freely. This introduces three-dimensional optical illusions, as well as an extraordinary sense of freedom and happenstance into the patterns of the woven fabric. This concept has been explored with considerable finesse and rigour – so that what emerges are very free, yet meticulously structured, variations on a theme.

Monika Correa was introduced to weaving in 1962 by the distinguished American weaver Marianne Strengell of the Cranbrook Academy, Michigan. On her return to India, she continued her training at the Weaver’s Service Centre in Bombay. Her work, which explores the underlying relationship between weaving and the diverse patterns and textures of nature, is in several major public collections - including the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Johannesburg, and the Quartet of Tapestries commissioned by Philip Johnson for The Four Seasons restaurant in Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram building in New York.

Chemould Prescott Road (formerly, Gallery Chemould) while being a contemporary art gallery primarily showing Modern and Contemporary art from India, also has a tradition of introducing diverse art practices. Monika Correa’s work is unique in that it takes extremely inventive concepts at the technical level and translates them into highly visual and tactile products that exude a sense of classic and monumental peace. The gallery presents her new body of work, Meandering Warp: Variations on a Theme.

Monika Correa who has exhibited her work both in India and abroad lives in Bombay with her architect husband Charles Correa.