Of the artists working in tapestry today, Helena Hernmarck stands without peer. Her work, selected for scores of fine public spaces is seen each year by millions of viewers. For them, these pieces often become the focus and persona of familiar places. That the work seems to belong in place is not an accident: rather, it has “grown” there. The artist adapted her artistic intent to the requirements of the architecture of the space and the nature of the client.

Almost always derived from a local environment, her themes encapsulate the great outdoors—in heroic scale. Her work has withstood the test of time; that is, better than almost all the art fabrics created in the last half century, hers have fared better in aging gracefully. This body of work has the advantage of traditional tapestry hangings, of installing, storing and cleaning easily. But they are not conventional tapestries drawn by artists and executed by artisans. These are modern works with such expression of structure and materials to compensate for spaces perhaps insufficient in these soul-satisfying qualities.

She triumphs over limitations to create an art form that goes beyond craft without losing its durable virtues.

—Jack Lenor Larson

Link to American Crafts Magazine article by Sigrid Wortmann Weltge