Deep Purple, Red Shoes

New York–based Polly Apfelbaum’s (born 1955) oeuvre, a mixture of two- and three-dimensional art, is situated at the intersection of painting, sculpture and installation, and often introduces various techniques considered "female"―such as weaving―into the realm of contemporary art. In her new artist’s book, Deep Purple, Red Shoes, published on the occasion of her eponymous exhibition at Be-Part in Waregem, Belgium, Apfelbaum combines a modern-day discourse with the tradition of handwoven carpets from a village in Oaxaca, Mexico, where the entire community is involved in carpet making, designing carpets that practically covered her exhibition space. The volume begins with a few enigmatic cut-out pages in bright red, orange and purple, representing the shapes of the Be-Part rugs. These are followed by installation views in black and white, while a series of details in full color unveils the installation bit by bit.