Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft Reveal First Exhibition of 2025

Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft Reveal First Exhibition of 2025

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Continuing to showcase the work of the innovative artists and craftspeople who have lived and worked in the village, Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft has announced another landmark show. Running on Sat 18 Jan – Sun 22 June, On And Off The Loom focuses on Tadek Beutlich MBE (1922 – 2011), in the first institutional exhibition dedicated to his work in the UK for over 25 years.  

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A visionary textile artist, printmaker and teacher, he became renowned for his extraordinary tapestries, textile constructions and large vivid relief prints from the 1960s and 1970s. Strikingly large works created in his Ditchling studio in the late 1960s will take centre stage in this retrospective, including Dream Revealed (1968), an eight-foot-tall weaving created using unspun jute, mohair and horsehair, which has not been seen since it was shown in Switzerland at the Lausanne Textile Biennale in 1969.

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Intricate freestanding off-loom pieces and vibrant relief prints made using tree sections, Lycra and foam rubber will also be exhibited, showcasing the breadth and variety of this extensive career. The Polish-born Beutlich, who lived in Ditchling, Sussex, in the late 60s and early 70s, had a distinctive style and approach which challenges the usual definitions of craft categorisation. As an artist, weaver and tapestry maker he would sometimes make prints and textiles using the same imagery, yet he believed that to plan out a tapestry or weaving by sketching it with pencil on paper was to do a disservice to the material that he worked with. 

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This complex relationship between fine arts and craft has much to do with his early years as a student – Beutlich was profoundly influenced by one of his teachers at art school in Poland who taught him “not to think just do it”, an ethos which resonated throughout his career. He used natural materials for his weaving such as sisal and jute and, whilst living in Spain, he began working with esparto grass. His earlier work often contained pieces of organic material such as charred wood, and in some cases celluloid film or x-ray film. Their size was largely limited by the space he worked in. 

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He approached printmaking with the same innovation and freedom as he did textiles, experimenting with techniques and using wood, metal and found objects in his prints. He would walk on his prints as a substitute for a press, stamping by foot to imprint the design. This approach came out of both necessity and choice, as he could not afford a press, but he also liked the freedom that this method gave him. 

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While in Ditchling, as he worked in Gospels, Beutlich made several large monochrome works that are said to reflect his subconscious grappling with wartime experiences. Among these is Winged Insect (1973). Characterised by heavy, twisted sisal, the works convey a sense of tension and unease, with their extraordinary scale lending them an imposing presence.

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He found it difficult running a large studio and employing assistants at Gospels, and felt the process of making this work had become too commercial for him. Then, in 1974 in Spain - inspiration returned. He began working with the material around him, like esparto grass which grew by his house, and brightly coloured wool from local markets and making ‘free warp tapestry’. He returned to the UK in 1980 and settled in Folkestone. He continued to make smaller works for the rest of his life, enjoying recognition into his later years. Beutlich's bold, innovative approach to materials, coupled with his fearless experimentation, gave him countless artistic lives - each of which will be showcased in this exhibition.

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Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft is collaborating with basket maker Tim Johnson who will make a new commission in response to Beutlich’s work. Johnson has undertaken detailed practice based research (supported by Emma Mason Gallery and West Dean College) using an incomplete manuscript by Beutlich describing his techniques for ‘Free Warp Tapestry’. The manuscript features illustrations by Beutlich, intended to instruct the reader on his off-loom weaving techniques. Tim will also lead two workshops about Beutlich’s techniques during the exhibition.

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Linked to the exhibition, the museum has also taken part in The Sensational Museum, a £1M project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), this interdisciplinary project will design and create sensory interventions that are accessible to all – using disabled people’s perspectives and insight to change how museums work for everyone. Devised with a team of external co-curators, a new multisensory display about weaver and dyer Ethel Mairet will be exhibited as part of Tadek Beutlich: On and Off the Loom. 

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For more information, head to www.ditchlingmuseumartcraft.org.uk 

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