Cushion, The Slice

Lene Frantzen’s concept for The Slice (2003) was the culmination of 20 years of experimentation with felt. This piece is technically skillful and showcases the material qualities of felt: that it can be formed into three-dimensional objects, can be made dense enough to provide structure while maintaining a desirably soft surface hand, and that visual patterning is accomplished by the same process used to make the material itself. The Slice is made of one material and one process, from raw material to finished product.
The design of The Slice is built up by layering fibers of varied colors and the composition is rolled and felted with a remarkable degree of consistency through an enormous roll of wool fiber. Once felted, the “log” is sliced, which creates patterns resembling the annual growth rings of a tree trunk. Each piece is unique and cannot be reproduced. The Slice has won several awards and has been included in numerous museum exhibitions throughout Europe and in the United States.
Frantzen’s design is of particular interest to the museum’s collection because it is intrinsically cross-departmental. Although it is typically used as a seat cushion, it upends traditional notions of textiles as a surface only, on a structure of other materials. The Slice also represents a creative and innovative use of felt, an important medium within the museum’s textiles collection.

Cushion, The Slice; Designed by Lene Frantzen (Danish, b. 1961); Denmark; wool; Diameter: 40 cm (15 3/4 in.); Gift of Lene Frantzen; 2009-23-1-a/j

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Fashioning Felt.