2 cols.

Ait Ouaouzguite mantle, “akhnif,” Jebel Siroua region, Morocco, fine sheep’s wool and silk, early- to mid-Nineteenth Century, 81½ by 59 inches.

FOR 5/23

CAVIN-MORRIS GALLERY TO SHOW THE ART OF MOROCCAN TEXTILES w/1cut

Set 5/12 ak/cd; #739684

NEW YORK CITY — Cavin-Morris Gallery is hosting “The Art of Moroccan Textiles,” in association with Gebhart Blazek of Austria, through June 21. Included in the exhibition are the serial and subtle natural dye kilims from the High Atlas Mountains, tantalizingly glimpsed in the opening scenes of the film Babel.

The minimalism of one striped and amuletically-motifed kilim is compelling, but when seen as a group, the variations become significant and hypnotic. According to Blazek, in his article “Earth and Moon, Kilims from the Ourika Valley,” there was a brief window of time when high quality kilims were available, but that window is now closed. This grouping offers an opportunity for connoisseurs and contemporary painting lovers to gain insight into these rarely seen textiles.

The low-key but powerful way these textiles fulfill tradition and still carry the voice of the individual maker is a profound part of the viewing experience. The irregularities and variations in the undyed wool create landscapes (know as abrash) that are evocative of the Atlas region in Morocco, while being markedly different from those seen in the abrash of the rich textiles of another desert people — the Navajo of the American southwest.

Also included in the exhibition’s painterly theme are shawls and cloths minimally dyed and marked with henna, created with talismanic intent for protection, as well as a rare group of spectacularly colored tie-dyed shawls, too fragile to be worn now, but still enigmatic and vividly pigmented with expressionistic geometrics. A rare man’s ceremonial hooded mantle from the Ait Ouaouzgite Berber people is also on view, one of very few known.

Cavin-Morris is at 210 Eleventh Avenue. For information, www.cavinmorris.com or 212-226-3768.