October was a month full of fun and creativity at browngrotta arts. Our Fall Art in the Barn exhibition, Allies for Art, went off without a hitch! We always enjoy getting the opportunity to meet our fellow art lovers.

Throughout the month we also introduced you to even more new art each week with our New This Week category! Now, we are recapping what the month brought forth.

Lizzie Farey
19-21lf Sauchen Curach I-III willow by Lizzie Farey, paper clay 37” x 3.125” x 2” 36.25” x 2.75” x 3” 38” x 3” x 3.25”, 2020. Photo by Tom Grotta.

First up on our list we have Sauchen Curach I-III by Lizzie Farey. Farey has stated that her work is often inspired and driven from her fascination with living things and natural form. Viewers can recognized these themes from the intricate details present in her work.

“For me, willow has become a medium for an interaction with nature that is deeply personal,” said Lizzie Farey. “Using willow, birch, heather, bog myrtle and many other locally grown woods, my work ranges form traditional to organic sculptural forms.”

Gertrud Hals
9-11gh Ultima Copper, Green, Orange, Gjertrud Hals, cotton, linen, pigment, 25″ x 24″ x 24″, each, 2021. Photo by Tom Grotta.

Up next we have the contemporary work of Norwegian textile artist, Gjertrud Hals. Hals’ has said that her work is largely influenced by the time she has spent in countries across the world, including: India, Jordan, Norway and Japan.

When asked about her work, Hals said:

“I was born and raised on a small island on the northwestern coast of Norway, and this has to a large extent influenced my artwork,” said Gjertrud Hals. “As a seasoned traveler I have observed many different cultures. Much of my artistic work is an attempt at expressing the connection between the island’s micro-history and the world’s macro-history.”

Baiba Osite
2-4bo Blue, Gray and Red Square, Baiba Osite, driftwood, canvas 27.5” x 27.5” x 2” each, 2022. Photos by Tom Grotta.

Introducing you all to the work of Latvian textile artist Baiba Osite. We had the honor of featuring Osite’s work in our fall exhibition for the first time ever! Across the globe, Osite is known for her work with different fiber materials including driftwood, glass beads, wire, metal spirals, wool and linen. Her work is also inspired by traditional ethnographic patterns and influenced by different cultures

The works that you see featured here were made from driftwood segments that Osite collects on the shore of the Baltic Sea.

Jan Hladik
4jh Der Rote Gobelin, Jan Hladik hand dyed wool 79” x 60”, 1966. Photo by Tom Grotta.

Although we know this artist needs no introduction – we introduce you all the the work of the late Jan Hladik. Haldik was a Czech Post War & Contemporary artist, and is still known globally for his groundbreaking textile artwork.

Haldik was another artist that we proudly featured in Allies for Art, so we are excited to announce that you can still get your hands on his work today!

 Ritzi and Peter Jacobi
10rj Exotica Series, Ritzi and Peter Jacobi, cotton, goat hair and sisal, 114″ x 60″ x 6″, 1975

Last, but not least, we invite you to take a look at the Exotica Series by one of the most innovative duos in the industry, Ritzi and Peter Jacobi. Ritzi and Peter Jacobi collaborated on textile works for 15 years, from 1967 to 1984 to be exact.

The tapestry that you see today is a collection of the works that they began to create together in the 70s after observing the medieval religious embroidery tradition of their native country, Romania. Within this decade, the duo explored abstraction as their dominant mode of expression.

As always, we hope you enjoy viewing and learning about the extraordinary artists we have the opportunity to work with. If you like what we highlighted throughout the month, we encourage you to view Allies for Art: Work from NATO-related countries, which is now live on Artsy until January 9, 2023. To get a print copy for yourself, click here.