Monthly archives: September, 2020

Volume 50: Artist Focus — Lia Cook

A Beautiful Mind: Lia Cook weaves empirical cerebral data into works of textile art

Detail of Su Series Lia Cook. Photo by Tom Grotta
Detail: Su Series, Lia Cook cotton, rayon, woven 72” x 132”, 2010-2016

There may be nothing as pleasurable than viewing and experiencing works of art up close and in person. However, recent sheltering in response to the corona virus, required us to approach art online, whether offered by galleries or museums or cultural institutions. This experience and the brain’s response to seeing and experiencing art in different mediums, or the school of neuroaesthetics, has long been a point of interest in the work of California-based textile artist Lia Cook.  

Lia Cook Su Series. Photo by Tom Grotta
45lc Su Series, Lia Cook cotton, rayon, woven 72” x 132”, 2010-2016

Cook works in a variety of media combining weaving with painting, photography, video and digital technology. Her current practice explores the sensuality of the woven image and the emotional connections to memories of touch and cloth. Working in collaboration with neuroscientists, she has been investigating the nature of the emotional response to woven faces by mapping these responses in the brain. She draws on the laboratory experience both with process and tools to stimulate new work in reaction to these investigations.

“I am interested in both the scientific study as well as my artistic response to these unexpected sources, exploring the territory between in several different ways.”

Woven Form by Lia Cook. Photo by Tom Grotta
12lc Woven Form, Lia Cook, rayon, cotton; woven, 45” x 53” 1980

Cook has long been an innovator, varying practice methods. Her early works, like Woven Form, were abstract and had an Op Art feel. In later works, like Leonard’s Quilt, she manipulated the textiles, with piecing and paint. That was followed by explorations of photographic images as tapestries made on a Jacquard loom. browngrotta arts has works from each of these periods which you can see on Artsy in Chronicling the Canon: https://www.artsy.net/show/browngrotta-arts-chronicling-the-canon.

Cook’s significant work, Su Series, comprised of 32 weavings of a single photograph, is featured in browngrotta arts’ upcoming exhibition, Volume 50.: chronicling fiber art for three decades. Here, Cook explores emotional response — highlighting the point at which the face dissolves first into pattern and then into a sensual, tactile woven structure and the various emotions the differing images evoke in the viewer.

“Absorption and inclusion are pervasive strategies in Cook’s work, operating at almost every level: formally, in her constant exploration of new techniques; emotionally in the way she stimulates the sense of touch through the eyes; and intellectually in the multiple reference to different art histories,” Meridith Tromble wrote in an essay for the Flintridge Foundation Awards for Visual Artists 1999/2000 catalogue.



Detail of Leonardos Quilt
Detail of Leonardo’s Quilt, Lia Cook acrylic on abaca, dyes on rayon; woven, 94” x 79” 1990

Volume 50.: chronicling fiber art for three decades.continues live through the 20th. http://www.browngrotta.com/Pages/calendar.php. You can also obtain a catalog that includes an image of Su Series at browngrotta.com: http://store.browngrotta.com/volume-50-chronicling-fiber-art-for-three-decades/.


Make a Day of It: Visiting browngrotta arts and other venues in early September

If you are coming to Volume 50: Chronicling Fiber Art for Three Decades at browngrotta arts in Wilton, Connecticut this weekend, we suggest you take advantage of a few of the area’s other treasures and cultural offerings. We’re taking you through three venues you should make a trip to see in addition to ours:

Philip Johnson Glass House, New Cannan CT
Philip Johnson Glass House, New Cannan CT

First up on our list is the Glass House in New Canaan, CT. The Glass House is currently open as an outdoor experience on their 49-acres across the property – offering a vast amount of beauty and respite.

Currently, they are exhibiting shows like Pliable Plan, a series that highlights artists and designers to refashion the house’s interiors with site-responsive textiles. In this exhibition you’ll find works from renowned artists like Anni Albers, where you’ll be taken on a journey that showcases her personal journey and relationship between working with textiles and architecture.

New Britain Museum of Art

However, Pliable Plan doesn’t stop there. Pliable Plan is also being presented at New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA), in partnership with Glass House to celebrate women’s initiatives in art.

Located in the heart of New Britain, CT, NBMAA welcomes all people to explore its 8,400+ paintings, works on paper, sculptures, videos, and photographs that highlight American Art.

Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah New York

Last, but not least on the list –  Katonah Museum of Art in Katonah, NY. Katonah Museum of Art is dedicated to understanding and tailoring a visual art experience that is suited for diverse audiences.

Exhibitions on the property explore ideas about art, culture, and society – past and present – through innovative exhibition and education programs.

Currently, there are many exhibitions to view at Katonah Museum of Art, including Bisa Butler: Portraits, which chronicles African American history through the illustration of the profound, unheard stories of those who lived through this time.

browngrotta arts, Wilton CT

We hope to see you within the 10 days our Volume 50: Chronicling Fiber Art for Three Decades exhibition is live.

You can view our Volume 50 collection at browngrotta arts, 276 Ridgefield Road, Wilton, Connecticut at the time of your choosing all weekend. To schedule a reservation, visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/volume-50-chronicling-fiber-art-for-three-decades-tickets-118242792375.




Volume 50: Who’s New? James Bassler

At browngrotta arts, we are delighted to exhibiting the work of consummate innovator James Bassler in Volume 50: Chronicling Fiber Art for Three Decades. For decades he has applied ancient techniques and materials to create works with contemporary themes. As Joyce Lovelace wrote in American Craft in 2011, “Few have lived life as happily steeped in materials and handwork as James Bassler, textile artist and professor. Bassler is a maker to his core, as evidenced by his extra­ordinary art tapestries, prized by collectors, and his eloquence on the subject of craft – down to the charming, unconscious way he peppers conversation with phrases like ‘weave that in’ and ‘grasping at straws.’” 

Weaving with Coyuche by James Bassler. Photo by Tom Grotta
1jb Weaving with Coyuchi, James Bassler, wedge weave; linen warp; weft of natural brown cotton from Oaxaca (coyuchi), black embroidery floss, silk, 33.5” x 42”, 2015 signed bottom left corner. Photo by Tom Grotta

For decades Bassler has applied ancient techniques and materials to create works with contemporary themes. Bassler is prolific and we have several examples of his work inhouse that we’ll be sharing throughout the year. For Volume 50, we are exhibiting a tapestry, Weaving with Coyuchi, made with coyuche, handspun brown cotton, using a wedge-weave technique, practiced by, among others, the Navajo in the 1880s.  To make Weaving with Coyuchi, Bassler first ran an image of a weaving through a printing press and then enlarged that image on a photocopy machine. After that, “All I had to do,” he said, “was weave it.” We’ll also be including a sculpture, Shop. Made from Trader Joe’s bags spun into thread to make bag from bags, Shop offers a wry statement about materials and materialism.

Shop James Bassler. Photo by Tom Grotta
8jb Shop, James Bassler made of brown paper Trader Joe’s shopping bags, cut and twisted and with yellow and red waxed linen thread; 16” X 10” , 2009. Photo by Tom Grotta

Following military service in Europe, Bassler traveled through the Middle East and Asia in the 1950s — steeping himself in traditional crafts as he traveled.  traditional crafts he saw. After earning a teaching degree in the US, he and his wife, Veralee, a ceramist, moved to Oaxaca, Mexico, where they ran a craft school.  In 1975, he joined the art faculty at UCLA and taught textile art there until his retirement in 2000. He was named to the American Craft Council College of Fellows in 1998. His work is found in numerous permanent collections including: the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, the Cleveland Art Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota and LongHouse Reserve, New York, NY. 

Detail of Weaving with Coyuchi by James Bassler, wedge weave; linen warp; weft of natural brown cotton from Oaxaca (coyuchi), black embroidery floss, silk, 33.5” x 42”, 2015 signed bottom left corner. Photo by Tom Grotta

Come see Bassler’s work and that of 60+ other artists at Volume 50: Chronicling Fiber Art for Three Decades from September 12-20 at browngrotta arts, 276 Ridgefield Road, Wilton, Connecticut: Opening and Reception: Saturday, September 12th, 1:00 – 6:30 pm, Daily Exhibition Hours: September 13th – 20th, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.

Save Viewing Information: Please note that advanced time reservations are mandatory to view the show. We have worked hard to plan this event with your health and safety in mind. To ensure the well being of all visitors and staff, there will be a maximum capacity of 15 visitors per time slot and wil operate in accordance with safety and social distancing guidelines. All surfaces will be disinfected between reservations. Masks will be required. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding our policy for the show or reservations, please reach out to us at: art@browngrotta.com or 203.834.0623.


Art Assembled: New This Week August

Even as summer nears to its end, we’re still heating up at browngrotta with all kinds of new artwork. During the month of August, we highlighted a few very talented artists, including: Marianne Kemp, Mary Merkel-Hess, Heidrun Schimmel, James Bassler.

Drifting dialogues by Marianne Kemp
Horsehair weaving: Drifting Dialogues by Marianne Kemp, 2018. Photo by Tom Grotta..

Netherlands based artist, Marianne Kemp is known for using unconventional weaving techniques with horsehair – to create works of character that combine texture, color and movement.

Sun Series Mark Merkel-Hess
Sun Series (Orange), Mary Merkel-Hess, 2013. Photo by Mary Merkel-Hess.

This vibrant and striking piece was created by the talented Mary Merkel-Hess. In her creative process, Merkel-Hess is never one to pass up inspiration. In fact, she aims to create a life of constant creativity, and she does this through her work.

Filamente Heidrun Schimmel
Filamente, Heidrun Schimmel, 2017. Photo by Tom Grotta.

German-based artist, Heidrun Schimmel exclusively stitches her works by hand. She is passionate about the connections between thread and time and thread and humanity as they are interwoven into human existence.

Cumbe James Bassler
3jb Cumbe, James Bassler, linen, balance plain weave; discontinuous warp, synthetic and natural dye (indigo); 40 ½” X 40 ½” including natural color linen binding around entire perimeter, 2009 signed back lower left.

Jim Bassler is renowned textile artist whose time in the armed services gave him the opportunity to see the world. That experience introduced Bassler to the craft traditions of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. During Bassler’s travels, the ethnic textiles served as inspiration and a foundation for his work.

Next week, we will be launching our Volume 50 exhibition and catalog. We’re excited to launch, as we know you’re going to love what’s in store – you’ll even be seeing work by familiar artists like James Bassler and Mary Merkel-Hess. The exhibition is open live for safe viewing from 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday 12th and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Sunday September 13 – 20th. To reserve your time slot go to eventbrite, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/volume-50-chronicling-fiber-art-for-three-decades-tickets-118242792375 or
to learn about our online Exhibition programming check our calendar at browngrotta.com.