Wool felt is a marvel. It is one of the oldest of human-made fabrics and it remains ubiquitous, figuring in everything from slippers to aircraft gaskets.
Felt also has artistic possibilities aplenty, some of which are explored in “Source,” the sumptuous New York debut of Sagarika Sundaram, who was born in Kolkata, India, in 1986, earned an M.F.A. in textiles from Parsons School of Design/The New School and lives in Brooklyn.
The dozen works here begin with a piece of white felt, lying flat, onto which Sundaram layers raw wool and yarn-like strands or pieces of dyed felt. This sandwich is then subjected to moisture and heat and a great deal of pressure, fusing into a single somewhat bumpy textile.
The show contains several beguiling small felt pieces including two rough-edged books whose pages read as dazzling little color studies. Less successful is the monumental “Source,” consisting of four or five large ellipses hanging together in folds. These elements can evoke immense leaves, shells or tents, each with its own motifs and combinations of dark red, brown and white natural dyes. But it seems unfocused, like a series of tryouts. It is also familiar, reprising craft-oriented art from the 1970s.
The masterpiece here is the vibrant “Atlas,” a small mural whose shapes and lines and blazing colors suggests a topographical map, tangled undergrowth or Lynda Benglis latex pour piece. You could say it’s all figure and no ground, an exercise in exquisitely controlled chaos. Unlike paint, felt grants each bit of color an electrifying separateness. “Atlas” belongs in a museum.
