Tapestry idea crystallizes: LaFayette-born artist scores major show with monumental work

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Tapestry idea crystallizes: LaFayette-born artist scores major show with monumental work

A native North Georgia artist says he's still friends with the people who helped him produce his latest work, but a year and a half and 27,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals later, they've all developed a love-hate relationship with "The Virgen de Guadalupe."

Byron Keith Byrd's 86- by 54-inch tapestry will be featured during Miami Art Week, a multi-day frenzy of art fairs that happens each December, drawing more than 1,200 galleries and thousands of artists from around the globe to the coastal city. Attendance for this year's festival, which starts Wednesday, is estimated at 77,000 over five days.

The cornerstone event is Art Basel Miami, for collectors with the deepest pockets. Byrd recalls watching one year as a canvas sold for $11.5 million, a sale negotiated in about two minutes, he says.

If Art Basel is the star attraction, another two dozen satellite fairs shine in its splendor. Byrd's work is included in Spectrum Miami, a juried contemporary art fair that the Orlando Sentinel has described as "an intense, thought-provoking experience with art, design and interactive works that surprise at every turn."

Count Byrd's "Virgen de Guadalupe" among those surprises.

The monumental piece, trimmed in velvet and lace, shimmers with crystals to match the different colors of the fabric. At its center is a 3-D hologram of the revered figure.

"I was inspired originally by the hologram," Byrd says, recounting a conversation in a California post office with his niece, who saw it among the novelty items sold there and told him, "You've got to do something with this."

The Virgen de Guadalupe, also known as Our Lady of Guadalupe, is the Catholic title of the Virgin Mary associated with a venerated image enshrined in the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world.

Byrd grew up as a Southern Baptist in LaFayette and says his knowledge of the icon was limited to the $2 candles bearing the Virgin's image that are sold in supermarkets and convenience stores.

Byrd was fascinated by the 3-D hologram effect, which made it appear as if its eyes move and its hands clasp in prayer.

"It was slightly hokey," he says.

Byrd often works in religious imagery and was aware of a fabric with a repeating pattern of the Virgin Mary. He ordered the fabric immediately, he says, and "was amazed that both the hologram and the fabric featured the image in the exact [same] size."

"By fluke or luck, she was the same scale, the right size, 12 inches tall," he says. "It looked like it was meant to be."

With those pieces in place, he says, he immediately envisioned a tapestry and ordered complimentary fabrics and trims online to complete his vision.

The most labor-intensive part of the project, the Swarovski crystals, came in phases.

"I thought, 'I'll do the yellow,' [to enhance] the glowing rays of lights around the virgin," he recalls. "Then I thought, 'That looks really nice. Maybe I should do her gown,' so I added the reds and blues. Then I did the flowers. By then, everything was done except the purple background. How could I not do that?"

Not realizing the number of crystals he would eventually use, Byrd paid retail each time. "Untold sums of money," he laughs.

The piece took about a year and a half to complete, and it went wherever Byrd went.

"I flew from California to New York to South Florida with that fabric in my carry-on luggage," he says. "I dared not let it be lost."

Attaching each crystal - all 27,000 of them - involved pushing a grommet through the back of the fabric then dropping a crystal into the prongs on the front side. Then a tool with a dowel was used to press down the prongs to keep each crystal in place.

Byrd lined up helpers - several high school students who assisted have teased him about child labor laws not being enforced - and even used casual visits with friends to complete the project.

"While we were sitting there [visiting], I'd say, 'You have to do this with me.' We got pretty good at it," Byrd says.

He happily adds that he's "still on speaking terms" with everyone pressed into service.

To finish the work, Byrd sought out a yacht upholsterer for her high-end expertise. She recommended quilting the fabric and adding padding to help secure and hold the weight of the crystals.

"The fabric is so heavy from the crystals that we had to quilt it as well as insert plywood into the piece to make it substantial," he says, estimating that the final products weighs 50 to 60 pounds.

"The Virgen de Guadelupe" will be for sale during Miami Art Week and afterward, if necessary, through Blink Group Fine Art Gallery, which represents Byrd.

Gallery curator Aldeide Delgado calls Byrd a special talent "because he works in so many different media in a broad range of subjects and styles. He's a delightful, creative puzzle."

Byrd says he considers the show a "mile marker" in his career.

"It's a good thing for any artist to show there," he says. "I'm honored to be there."

He also has been asked to feature his art in Bloomingdale's Manhattan flagship store windows next year. He says he's been directed to "create works that will stop people in their tracks" while reflecting the store's brand.

And he still harbors a home-grown wish.

"My long-term dream is to return to my native home and have museum exhibits," he writes in an email. "My goal is to have a traveling show between The Frist Museum (Nashville) the Hunter Museum (Chattanooga), Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art as well as the High Museum (Atlanta)."

Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.