Adam and Eve

Saul Borisov

1960–1969

Abstract weaving depicting nude man and woman with long hair surrounded by plant life.
This wall hanging by Saul Borisov depicts Adam and Eve, naked but for fig leaves, not separate beings but still attached to one another, possibly hiding from God after eating the fruit from the forbidden tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden. The curving shapes and striking colors here are characteristic of much of his textile art.

Credits

© Estate of Saul Borisov.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 9.

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Creator Bio

Saul Borisov

1912–1991

Saul Borisov was a textile artist who lived and worked in Mexico. Born Saul Pupkin in Borisov, near Minsk, the artist immigrated in 1923 to New York, where he studied painting at the Cooper Union School of Art. After working in the Federal Art Project arm of the Work Projects Administration, Borisov served in the army during World War II and moved to Mexico City in 1948. It was there that Borisov discovered weaving, first learning traditional methods and practices before adopting a more experimental and improvisational approach. Borisov made his own dyes, using vibrant colors to create abstract shapes and asymmetrical compositions in intricate representational tapestries.

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