Artwork copyright Lawrence Eick. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2023.

Artwork copyright Lawrence Eick. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2023.

Billings Suite, 1981

Lawrence Eick
American (born 1947)

Location: Washington State Arts Commission, Olympia

About the Artwork

Billings Suite is a hand-cast paper and fabric collage created by artist Lawrence Eick. A folded rawhide envelope called a "Parfleche," used by Native American Plains and Plateau Tribes, inspired this piece. Used for storing possessions, he describes the "Parfleche" as a practical item essential for nomadic travel. Eick's composition features triangular forms and patterns that represent the western landscape. Eick notes, "One spring I was travelling to the east coast and the plane stopped in Billings, Montana. The sun was just coming up and plants were beginning to sprout leaves. I was captivated by the land patterns (natural and man-made) as we flew over the Billings area. Land formations cast long shadows as the sun rose. The early morning light seemed to fill the air with an eerie glow. I was particularly amazed by the patterns made by plowed wheat fields. As we flew over them the rows of spring wheat created patterns."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Washington State Arts Commission.

About the Artist

Lawrence Eick is a Missoula-based artist and curator. He creates metal and fiber-based artworks.
Born in New York, Eick served in the U.S. Army in South Korea in the late 1960s. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in art education from Sterling College in Kansas. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in crafts design from the University of Montana in 1975. He worked as curator of the Missoula Museum of the Arts (now Missoula Art Museum) for many years.