Ornamental Carpets Release Wild Animals in Debbie Lawson's Provocative Sculptures

"Starting with an armature of wire mesh, masking tape, and Jesmonite resin, she meticulously cuts and tucks Persian carpet around every limb, building a surface that looks unbroken. As if the animals have materialized from within the textiles and are temporarily frozen in a stage of metamorphosis, we encounter them on the verge of making a move."

"In the artist's solo exhibition, In a Cowslip's Bell I Lie at Sargent's Daughters, she provokes "questions about the relationships between decoration and nature, craft and camouflage," the gallery says. The title is a line from Shakespeare's The Tempest, when the spirit Ariel sings about freedom and the carefree, even charmed connection to nature following his release from forced servitude to the sorcerer Prospero."

"Lawson draws on the lineage of nature motifs in art, especially wildlife. She alludes to "the natural and animal forms hidden within decorative forms and patterns, from the frescoes of Pompeii to French Rococo moldings to Venetian stone carvings-the designs of William Morris and even the New York Public Library's lions," says a statement."

"The dialogue between art and decor parallels inherent tensions between interiors and the outside world-refinement and domesticity versus nature or indeed, the wilderness. Lawson also thinks about the gendered history of home life and craft, which has long been been associated with "women's work." This is deeply personal for the artist, as textile- and art-making go"

Life-size animal sculptures are built from wire mesh and Jesmonite resin, then covered by carefully cut and tucked Persian carpet so the surface appears seamless. The animals seem to have emerged from textiles and paused mid-transformation. The exhibition title references Shakespeare’s Ariel and freedom after release from servitude, framing the works as poised between movement and stillness. The sculptures connect wildlife motifs across art history, from Pompeii frescoes and Rococo moldings to William Morris designs and carved lions. They also echo domestic interiors where refinement and wilderness coexist, and they draw attention to craft traditions tied to women’s work.

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