Celebrating the Work of Kaija Sanelma Harris

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Kaija Sanelma Harris, “Transition II,” 1987, linen and cotton warps, wool weft, inlaid tapestry, 54" x 70" (photo by Hogarth Photography)

Two shows on now are celebrating the unique talents and artistry of Kaija Sanelma Harris, one of Canada's foremost textile artists.

Now to March 9, 2025, the Remai Modern is hosting Warp and Weft, a stunning display of fibre art by the acclaimed Saskatoon artist. The Saskatchewan Craft Council Gallery is mounting a companion exhibition, also entitled Warp and Weft, through Feb. 8, 2025, showcasing her superb craftsmanship and technical innovation.

The Saskatchewan Craft Council Gallery has assembled an impressive archive of Harris’s notes and sketches and curated an exhibition that offers fascinating insights into her working methods and thought processes. Few artists prepare as meticulously as she did, working through colour studies, compositions, and concepts until every detail and nuance was perfected. As well as illuminating the technical expertise and experimental developments in her work, the curators also reveal the presence of hidden cryptograms which are stitched into some of the tapestries.

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Kaija Sanelma Harris, “On the Way to Shangri-La,” 1990, cotton, wool and silk, tapestry with inlaid design and double weave, 59" x 63" x 2" (photo by Hogarth Photography)

The exhibition at the Remai concentrates more on her conceptual development, and on the interwoven communities that nourished her work. She was part of the strong contingent of formalist abstract painters who were highly influential in Saskatoon in the 1970s and 1980s. She also had deep roots in the craft community, producing many useful products that still grace local households today. Although deeply embedded in the local art scene, she had connections with artists on the world stage, too, particularly through her involvement with the Fibre Interchange workshops at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity. 

Born in Finland on Dec. 20, 1939, Harris received a thorough grounding in traditional techniques in Finland and Sweden, followed by an apprenticeship to the Icelandic textile designer Sigrun Jonsdottir. While in Iceland, she met and married Richard Harris, an American Fulbright student. Through the 1960s she moved among Iceland, Sweden, and the US, following her husband’s career in academia. She was inspired by the experimental nature of fibre art exhibitions she encountered during this formative period of travel, and when she settled in Saskatchewan in 1973, she began to explore contemporary innovations in fibre art. She died in 2022.

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Kaija Sanelma Harris, “Framed Series No. 1,” 2006, cotton, synthetic yarn, Swedish carpet wool, Canadian yarn, tapestry, 30" x 64" (courtesy of the estate of Kaija Sanelma Harris, photo by Hogarth Photography)

During her long, active career, Harris continued to pursue technical excellence while developing creatively, bridging the divide between art and craft. Warp and Weft is a major retrospective that demonstrates the remarkable range of her technical and artistic explorations. Her work is exemplified by an extraordinary sensitivity to the subtle nuances of colour and light found in the prairie landscape and northern forests. There is a serenity in these works reminiscent of the work of Barnett Newman or Agnes Martin, but enhanced with a sense of warmth and intimacy, a comforting quality retained from the humble origins of household use inherent in traditional fibre products.

Harris’s use of colour and light to create emotional resonance is comparable to the best of the great abstract painters of the period. Her almost sculptural surfaces of ripples, folds and pleats catch light and cast shadows, contributing to the atmospheric mood of her tapestries. These deep textures are the result of her remarkable technical innovations in double or inlaid tapestry weaving, adding a three-dimensional structure woven directly into the body of the tapestry.

Harris's first exhibition in Saskatoon was at the Shoestring Gallery in 1975, championed by the abstract painter, Otto Rogers. She went on to a career of great artistic achievement, featured in solo and group exhibitions across Saskatchewan, Canada, the United States and in Europe. Harris received many awards and grants, including five Premier’s prizes and seven merit awards from the prestigious Dimensions biennial juried craft shows. She has left an indelible impression on the craft community in Saskatchewan, and her work continues to be a source of inspiration for emerging fibre artists. ■

Kaija Sanelma Harris, Warp and Weft, is on now through March 9, 2025, at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon

A companion exhibition, Kaija Sanelma Harris, also entitled Warp and Weft, is on now through Feb. 8, 2025, at the Saskatchewan Craft Council Gallery 

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