Tapta (Maria Wierusz-Kowalski, 1926-1997) was a Belgian sculptor of Polish origin, whose influential work helped radically redefine sculpture by using
textiles and other flexible materials as sculptural elements, and diversify textile creation beyond the categories of the decorative and the artisanal, paving the way for multidisciplinary research. Tapta came to Belgium as a political refugee with her husband, Christoph, after taking part in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. She studied fine art and weaving at the National School for Advanced Visual Arts La Cambre, Brussels, from which she graduated in 1949. Shortly afterwards, the couple moved to the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), where they lived from 1950 to 1960. After returning to Belgium, Tapta swiftly established herself as one of the most important members of a new generation of artists, who sought to redefine sculpture by using textiles and other flexible materials as sculptural elements. In doing so, she simultaneously took textile art beyond the categories of ornament and craft.
