Wrapping and coiling became signature techniques for Hesse after she worked for a year in an abandoned German textile factory, surrounded by discarded materials such as cord and electrical tubing. Hung from the wall by a drooping elastic cord, the oblong sausage-like shape was made with papier-mâché, painted, and wrapped with string. In contrast to the Minimalist artists who were her friends and peers, Hesse sought to cultivate organic qualities, a tactile sensibility, and bodily associations in her sculpture.
Gallery label from Making Space: Women Artists and Postwar Abstraction, April 19 - August 13, 2017.
