Claudy Jongstra: Organic art

Claudy Jongstra is an internationally acclaimed Dutch artist specializing in tapestries and textile art installations. The beauty of nature, raw resources and historical knowledge inspire Jongstra to bring a sense of beauty and belonging into public spaces.

After completing her studies in fashion in Utrecht, Jongstra began her professional work and has since collaborated with many fashion designers, including John Galliano, Christian Lacroix and Donna Karan. For the last 15 years, she has worked on large-scale tapestries for city halls, libraries and hospitals with architects such as Coenen, Koolhaas, Claus en Kaan architecten and TWBT architects.

Jongtra’s studio has created wall hangings for the Dutch presidential residence, the Catshuis, the Dutch embassy in Berlin and Bennington College in Vermont. In 2010, she produced two huge installations for the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, and in 2011 exhibited pieces in the headquarters of the United Nations in New York.

Her work is also in the permanent collections of many museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Each piece by Jongstra is a one-of-a-kind creation in which traditional crafts like spinning, carding and weaving are used in an innovative and expressive way. The exhibition in Davos presents some of her tapestries and shows her dedication to preservation of our natural and cultural heritage.