NeSpoon Covers Europe in Lace – 10 Cities this Year

When it comes to local lace and architecture, Nespoon has you covered.

The Polish street artist has had a very productive year, traveling to Spain, Italy, Sweden, and France – always in pursuit of historical examples of this time-honored and exquisite yet dying art. By enlarging the patterns of people’s needlework – some of it quite honored and revered – she re-lights the candle of interest for the contemporary topography of the city. As one woman’s mission, the sometimes forgotten craft is shared here with a modern audience – the original patterns and designs often created by generations before this.

NeSpoon. Penelles, Spain. (photo © NeSpoon)

Today we have the honor and pleasure of sharing many of the 10 murals she painted in several countries in the first nine months of the year – along with her descriptive texts to accompany the works.

“I always paint my murals as in-situ works. Wherever I am, I always research local lace-making traditions. In many cities, lace-making factories operated, in the countryside they were traditional, female lace-making circles. I often find interesting exhibits at the local historical museum. Sometimes I just visit the apartments of seniors living nearby, I always find some lace. Based on such patterns, I prepare a mural design,” says Nespoon.  

NeSpoon. Original Lace. Penelles, Spain. (photo © NeSpoon)

“In Spain, in Penelles, I painted for the Gargar Festival, near Barcelona. I designed the mural on the basis of a traditional 19th-century ‘mantilla’, a veil used by women there for liturgical purposes, such as weddings and funerals.”

NeSpoon. Penelles, Spain. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Penelles, Spain. (photo © NeSpoon)

“I came to Halmstad, Sweden, at the invitation of the city council. Swedish lace is very simple, so I decided to approach the design issues differently. I created the pattern of the mural spontaneously by sketching it directly on the wall with my free hand. There was no historical reference here.” 

NeSpoon. Halmstad, Sweden. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Halmstad, Sweden. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Halmstad, Sweden. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Halmstad, Sweden. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Luri, Corsica. France (photo © NeSpoon)

“In Yffiniac, in Brittany, France, in a private historical museum, I found a magnificent Breton ceremonial shawl from the end of the 19th century. A fragment of the pattern became the basis of my design. I painted for the Street Arte en Baie Festival.”  

NeSpoon. Original lace. Luri, Corsica. France (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Luri, Corsica. France (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Luri, Corsica. France (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Stigliano, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)

“I found similar inspiration in another Italian city, Stigliano. A woman living near where I worked showed me the lace made by her mother. There I painted for appARTEngo artepublica, the local association.”  

NeSpoon. Stigliano, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Original lace. Stigliano, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Stigliano, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Yffiniac, France. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Original lace. Yffiniac, France. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Lace news. Yffiniac, France. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Yffiniac, France. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Mendicino, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)

“In Mendicino, in the south of Italy, I painted for the Gulìa Urbana Festival. My inspiration was the tablecloth I found in the house of a woman living nearby.” 

NeSpoon. Mendicino, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Mendicino, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Mendicino, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Brescia, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)

“Brescia is an Italian city near Venice. It was in Venice that the first handbook for lace making, Le Pompe, was printed in the 16th century. The mural I painted for the LINK Urban Art Festival was based on Venetian lace from the island of Burano.”

NeSpoon. Brescia, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)
NeSpoon. Brescia, Italy. (photo © NeSpoon)
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