For two-and-a-half decades and across five continents, Janet Echelman (previously) has established spaces for gathering, although her approach emerges from an unusual angle. The artist is known for suspending enormous nets from ceilings and outdoor structures, which often cast colorful shadows or glowing light onto their surroundings. Swaying with gusts of wind, the architectural installations invite viewers to pause and meditate on interconnectedness.
Now, the artist’s works are collected in a monograph titled Radical Softness: The Responsive Art of Janet Echelman. Published by Princeton Architectural Press and edited by Gloria Sutton, the tome chronicles Echelman’s evolution while situating her practice within contexts of art history, engineering, climate activism, and more. As this list suggests, her reach is broad, and each piece tethers larger systems to which we’re all bound, whether political and ecological or aesthetic.
“The way that my art finds power is through its resiliency and adaptability rather than brute strength, because it lets the wind move through it rather than fighting it. I think that’s a metaphor for how to live in these times,” Echelman says in the introduction.
Containing sketches, diagrams, and photos documenting both the process and final works, the book offers a broad look at the artist’s practice. It also contains interviews and essays from art historians, curators, engineers, thinkers, and more, entwining Echelman’s projects within a vast ecosystem.
Radical Softness will be released on September 16 and is available for pre-order in the Colossal Shop.
