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Textile Artist · Berlin
Bobbin Lace as a Visual Language
Jaroslava Perény (born 1940) is a Czech-born, Berlin-based textile artist internationally renowned for her innovative approach to bobbin lace. She is particularly celebrated for transforming traditional lacemaking techniques into expressive, figurative textile art.
She discovered her defining medium in the late 1970s, when she mastered the technique of bobbin lace. Breaking away from conventional decorative lace, she began crafting intricate, tightly woven lace pictures — works that do not ornament, but narrate.
Career
- 1940 Born in Prasek, near Nový Bydžov in the present-day Czech Republic.
- 1950s–60s Trained at the Industrial School of Energy and Foodstuff in Nový Bydžov, specialising in glass, ceramics and paper.
- 1960s Works in clay, paper and corn husks, alongside her first batiks. Worked with an artistic bookbinder in Žilina, Slovakia.
- 1969 Relocated to Germany and established her own studio in Berlin.
- Late 1970s Turned to bobbin lace and produced her first tightly woven lace pictures.
- From the 1980s Around 30 exhibitions, mostly solo, and regular contributions to lacemaking and textile publications.
- Today Her own lace patterns and an online archive for the global lacemaking community.
Her Signature Style
Figurative Motifs
Her works frequently centre on the human figure.
Expressive Anatomy
A distinct hallmark of her art is the depiction of large hands and carefully composed body postures, designed to convey human moods, emotional states and narratives.
Improvisational Technique
Initially she eschewed traditional patterns, weaving her lace directly from freehand sketches. Later she began drafting her own patterns to pass her designs on.
From a craft that for centuries produced borders and trims, Jaroslava Perény has made a pictorial medium of its own: figures of linen and cotton thread, held by nothing but the tension of a thousand strands.
Exhibitions and International Recognition
approx. 30
Exhibitions
1969
Studio in Berlin
45+
Years of lace art
Over her extensive career, Perény has participated in approximately 30 exhibitions, the majority of which have been solo showcases. Her textile artworks – spanning bobbin lace pictures, batiks and carpets – have garnered an international reputation, with her pieces reaching collectors and audiences as far as Australia and Japan. She has published extensively, contributing her patterns and insights to lacemaking magazines and textile publications over the decades.
Jaroslava Perény