San Francisco native Kay Sekimachi is a pioneer in the post–World War II fiber art movement, which emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as artists gave textile traditions new expression, expanding into the realms of sculpture, installation, and performance art. With a combination of discipline and innovation, Sekimachi carved out a unique place for herself during this fertile period. Throughout her six-decade-plus career, she has explored the infinite possibilities of double weave—a technique in which she uses one warp to produce a cloth of two or more layers stretching its potential by transforming it from two to three dimensions.

Katsura is from Sekimachi’s seminal monofilament series. In 1963, she began experimenting with the new material from DuPont Chemical, drawn to the dualities of its properties— pliable yet firm, and transparent yet receptive to dyes. The plasticity of the monofilament line allowed the two layers of the double weave, strategically interlocked at intervals, to transform, when separated, into multidimensional structures. Triple and quadruple weaves followed shortly, and Sekimachi’s monofilament sculptures evolved into layered and volumetric configurations as she explored ideas of space, transparency, and movement. This series was a defining moment in the artist’s career, and she continues to use complex techniques to create simple, elegant forms. jkd