Category: Art Textiles

25 at 25 at SOFA NY Countdown: Marian Bijlenga

March 26, 2012 0 Comment

DIAMOND DOTS 5-V detail by Marian Bijlenga, photo by Tom Grotta

At SOFA NY 2012 this year,  browngrotta arts will exhibit work from the Diamond Dots series by Marian Bijlenga of the Netherlands. Bijlenga studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, has taught workshops at Kawashima Textile School, Kyoto,  the Aalto University School of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland and will teach at the Haystack School of Crafts in Maine this summer. Her work is found in the permanent collections of the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Textile Museum, Tilburg, the Netherlands and the LongHouse Reserve in New York.

17mb DIAMOND DOTS 5-V, Marian Bijlenga, horsehair, fabric, viscose, machine embroidered, 28″ x 28″, 2011, photo by Tom Grotta

“I am fascinated by dots, lines and contours, by their rhythmical movements but also by the empty space they confine,” the artist explains. “Instead of drawing on paper, I draw in space using textile as a material. By leaving some space between the structure and the wall the object is freed from its background and interacts with the white wall. It becomes what I call a ‘”spatial drawing.'”

Dispatches: Palm Beach, Florida

March 12, 2012 0 Comment

Tom behind a work by Chang Yeonsoon and in front of a Jun Tomita ikat. 2011 © Carter Grotta – courtesy cbgimages.com

Dawn MacNutt and Ceca Georgieva installation photo by Carter Grotta

We took a few days off and visited Florida last week. More rest than recreation, but we managed to visit Cocktail Culture at the Norton, which we had seen previously at the RISD Museum. Great fun! We wound up at the Apple Store and admired the iPhone cases by Fresh Fiber and appreciated the jewel-toned, stretched raw silk panels in our room at the Omphoy Resort.  We also visited friends who have two great works of fiber art: a pair of Dawn MacNutts from the Kindred Spirit series and Landscape for Men by Ceca Georgieva. On the Florida fiber art front, though, it’s hard to beat our in-laws’ collection.

John McQueen (1994) JUST UNDER THE RECORD private Collection photo by Tom Grotta

Here’s Tom behind an abaca square by Chang Yeonsoon and in front of an ikat by Jun Tomita, along with shots of a fanciful marlin by John McQueen,

two bows by Masakazu Kobayashi

Masakazu Kobayashi installation photo by Tom grotta

and work by Keiji Nio.

Blue Keiji Nio, photo by Tom Grotta

Art News: Korean Art Gains Exposure

March 9, 2012 0 Comment

The Korean Art Show opened this week at 82 Mercer Street in New York and runs through March 11th. Interest in Korean Art is on the rise. The Museum of Arts and Design and Korean Art Show opened the Korean Eye: Energy and Matter from last November through February. It was accompanied by a 300-page catalog. Last year’s Cheong-ju International Craft Biennale featured artworks by 189 international artists. The Korean Design & Craft Foundation began exhibiting at SOFA expositions in 2010. In recognition of this escalation of interest we offer this online view of work by three accomplished artists from Korea who explore traditional and innovative techniques in their work.  Chang Yeonsoon was Artist of the Year at the National Museum of Art in Seoul in 2008. The artworks of her Matrix series illustrate the Asian perspective of the human mind and body as unified, rather than separate. To transform her abstract ideas into three-dimensional structures requires an elaborate 12-step process that includes starching, ironing, cutting and sewing sparsely woven abaca fiber after dyeing it with indigo. Jin-Sook So has spent much of her career in Sweden and her work reflects her time in two cultures.  So creates abstract and rhythmical works by applying various techniques to wire mesh, organza and paper. Her works, like Untitled Steel Mesh in the permanent collection of the Museum of Arts and Design, combine Western influences and Korean sensibilities.  Young-Ok Shin transfoms traditional Korean aesthetics into contemporary works of art.  In Ways of Wisdom, for example, which is part of the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the artist repurposed an entire volume of a 19th-century printed version of the The Analects of Confucius to create five scrolls, woven with ramie and cotton threads, standing, rather laying flat in the traditional manner, each presenting the five elements of the East Asian cosmology: Water (black); Fire (red); Earth (yellow); Wood (blue) and Metal (white).

Exhibit News: Fiber Philadelphia 2012

February 29, 2012 0 Comment

This weekend marks the opening of Fiber Philadelphia is an international biennial and regional festival for innovative fiber/textile art.Pick up a copy of the FiberPhiladelphia directory, with all the venues listed (there’s even an app to help you get directions). You’ll see our 25th Anniversary ad in the Directory, featuring work by Ritzi Jacobi and Mary Merkel-Hess, and an ad for SOFA NY featuring a concrete basket by Klaus Titze and a much-appreciated congratulations to us. Among the Philadelphia exhibitions we hope to visit later this month: Distinguished Educators, at the Crane Arts Building: Grey Area, 1440 North American Street through April 12th which includes celebrates significant artist/mentors who have shaped the field:

WINTER GOLD, Adelea Akers, Linen, horsehair, paint & metal 30″ x 72″, 2011

Adela Akers, Lewis Knauss, Gerhardt Knodel, Gyongy Laky, Joan Livingstone, Rebecca Medel, Jason Pollen, Cynthia Schira, Warren Seelig, Deborah C. Warner, Carol Westfall, Pat Hickman, solo and in collaboration with the late Lillian Elliott; Andrea Donnelly: Binary, Sondra Sherman: Found Subjects at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 South 18th Street, through April 21st; and Secret Garden, which includes work by Lenore Tawney, Mary Merkel-Hess, Ted Hallman, Sheila Hicks,
and Jim Hodges at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Perelman Building, Fairmount and Pennsylvania Avenues, through July.
Visit the FiberPhiladelphia website for complete details. http://www.fiberphiladelphia.org/

 

On Exhibit Abroad: Sørensen, Bilenga and Drury

February 5, 2012 0 Comment

Traces of Light, couples digital jacquard by Sorensen and video by Bo Hovgaard

Grethe Sørensen’s work is the subject of a dramatic installation at the Round Tower in Copenhagen, Denmark. Traces of Light, couples digital jacquard by Sørensen and video by Bo Hovgaard, film & video producer. Video recordings of light in the city at night served as the starting point for the project. The unfocused camera acts as a filter that transforms the realism of billboards, street lamps and brightly colored surfaces into varying color effects. The recordings reflect four themes: Rush Hour, City Light, Passing by and Times Square in a Rush. The exhibition includes 18 large weavings alongside the video in large format. The flowing movements of the video create an ethereal counterpoint to the weight and structure of the weavings. Rundetaarn Købmagergade 52A, 1150 Copenhagen K, 33 73 03 73; post@rundetaarn.dk; http://rundetaarn.dk/engelsk/udstillinger.html#Traces_of_Light_; through March 11, 2012.

Traces of Light, couples digital jacquard by Sorensen and video by Bo Hovgaard

 

A Sense of Place, at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251South Street, http://www.philartalliance.org/exhibitsnew.htm, includes work by Marian Bijlenga and seven other artists. It closes on April 21st.

Bijlenga’s work will be part of Langsam + Leise (Softly + Quietly) at Künstlerforum Bonn, Hochstadenring 22-24, 53119 in Bonn, Germany, http://www.kuenstlerforum-bonn.de/typolight/index.php/suche.html?keywords=bijlenga&x=0&y=0, which opens March 11th and runs through August 4, 2012.

Chris Drury’s work will be a part of Landscapes of Exploration, at the Peninsula Arts Gallery, Plymouth University, UK, from February 11th to March 31, 2012. Ten visual artists, one musician and three writers undertook residencies in the Antarctic between 2001 and 2009, under the auspices of the British Antarctic Survey, supported by Arts Council England. This exhibition will bring together for the first time art resulting from the various artistic investigations, offering an opportunity to examine the role of contemporary art in examining Antarctica. Plymouth University, Roland Levinsky Building, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA; http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=28345#landscapes.

8cd Double Echo, Chris Drury, Inkjet print with UV coating, 54.25″ x 46.25″ x 2.75″, 2000

The Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery in Drake Circus will feature a companion exhibit, From Plymouth to Pole: Scott, Science and the Men who Sailed South through April 14, 2012.

Guest Post Alert: Crafting Modernism by Carol Westfall

December 26, 2011 0 Comment

In her second post, Carol Westfall reviews Crafting Modernism

Music Rack Wendell Castle, 1964 REQUIRED PHOTO CREDIT: Purchased by the American Craft Council, 1964

at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York CIty through January 15, 2011.
https://arttextstyle.com/guest-posts-carol-westfall 

Guest Post Alert: Carol Westfall’s First Guest Post This Monday

November 25, 2011 0 Comment

Kazuyo Onoyama, Orikata (Folded Form), 2006. Kyôko Ibe, Screen from the Hogosho series, 2009. Fuminori Ono, Feel the Wind, 2010. Hisako Sekijima, Kôzô o motsu ryô II (Volume That Has Structure II), #546, 2009. Hisako Sekijima, Renzoku suru sen (Continuous Lines), #559, 2010. Hisako Sekijima, Jûsan’yô no satsu (A Book with Thirteen Leaves), #553, 2009. Installation photo by Richard Goodbody.

Over the next few months, we’ll be featuring Guest Posts by artist, educator, collector and friend, Carol Westfall.  Westfall’s work has been exhibited extensively in Japan, Europe, South America and the US. She has taught at both Columbia University’s Teacher’s College in New York City and in the Fine Arts Department at Montclair State University in New Jersey  and is one of the artists included in the upcoming exhibition, Distinguished Educators, at the Crane Arts Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania next March. We worked with Westfall when she was at Montclair state University to produce the Art of Substance  exhibition in the gallery there.

In her first post, up Monday, November 28th, she takes a comprehensive look at the Fiber Futures: Japan’s Textile Pioneers exhibition, open through December 18th, which is still being talked up in New York City (including in a segment on Sunday Arts NY on PBS, Channel 13). In December, she’ll review Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design, at the Museum of Arts and Design, in New York through January 15th. Kazuyo Onoyama, Orikata (Folded Form), 2006. Kyôko Ibe, Screen from the Hogosho series, 2009. Fuminori Ono, Feel the Wind, 2010. Hisako Sekijima, Kôzô o motsu ryô II (Volume That Has Structure II), #546, 2009. Hisako Sekijima, Renzoku suru sen (Continuous Lines), #559, 2010. Hisako Sekijima, Jûsan’yô no satsu (A Book with Thirteen Leaves), #553, 2009. Installation photo by Richard Goodbody.

Artful Gift Giving Made Easy: Visit our Online Gift Gallery for suggestions from $14 to $1200

November 21, 2011 0 Comment

Jiro Yonezawa bamboo vase $380, photo by Tom Grotta

Our Online Gift Gallery link makes it easy to surprise the special people on your gift list — and maybe even yourself — with a memorable, one-off gift of art. Art is often among the items people choose to forego in trying economic times. By choosing an artful gift, you can offer your family and friends something they might not be willing to buy for themselves, but something they’d love to own. You’ll have chosen a truly one-of-a-kind, individually selected gift, and that’s an art in itself.

Rebecca Medel TWO PATHS $650 photo by Sam Fritch

The Online Gift Gallery at browngrotta arts makes choosing art gifts simple by featuring three price tiers. In tier one are works $500 and under, which includes catalogs, books and videos starting $14, raw silk scarves made in India by Japanese artists Chiaki and Kaori Maki starting at $380, a whimsical lidded bowl made of measuring tapes by Karyl Sisson for $160 and an elegant bamboo vase, complete with presentation box, by Jiro Yonezawa for $380. In tier two are works from $501 to $1000, including delicate black baskets of waxed linen, thorns and porcupine quills by Birgit Birkkjaer of Denmark, a surprising geometric sculpture of safety pins by Tamiko Kawata, and a sculptural piece by Rebecca Medel. In tier three are works from $1001 to $1200, including a small embroidered drawing by Russian artist Irina Kolesnikova, an indigo banner by Hiroyuki Shindo and a wall sculpture made of newspaper and saw blades by Kate Hunt.

Irina Kolesnikova, BALANCING II $650

Purchase any item from the Online Gift Gallery before December 1st and your shipping, anywhere in the US, will be free.  (If you purchase videos, books or catalogs from the Online Gift Gallery through our website before December 1st, we’ll send you a refund for the shipping.) And, for every item we sell from the Online Gift Gallery by the end of the year, we’ll donate $5 to the International Child Art Foundation http://www.icaf.org.

browngrotta arts will also participate in Small Business Saturday on November 26th. American Express cardholders who register their cards before that date and then make a purchase at a participating member on the 26th will receive an American Express gift card worth $25. Register here.

Installation News: Randy Walker Completes Passage in Minnesota

November 7, 2011 0 Comment

Randy Walker, 1875 iron bridge, acrylic fiber 115′ x 17 ‘x 15’

Randy Walker has turned the historic Shanaska Creek Bridge in Minnesota into an artwork, weaving strands of colored acrylic fiber from one to side of the structure to the other creating a large loom of sorts that will remain in place for 6 to 8 months.

Randy Walker, 1875 iron bridge, acrylic fiber 115′ x 17 ‘x 15’

At the end of that time, Walker will remove the fibers and they’ll be transformed into a textile work by the St. Peter Weavers in St. Peters, Minnesota. Walker’s Passage project asks viewers and participants to recall a forgotten past by transforming a decaying artifact into a vibrant artwork through the combined efforts of the artist and the community.

“I want people to celebrate the history of the bridge as they walk across.” Walker told the Le Center Leader. “I am very thankful for the opportunity provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Le Sueur County Commissioners to give this bridge another chapter in life.”  http://lecenter.comYou can also see Randy and his son discussing the bridge project in a video at:
http://www.keyc.tv/story/16012998/shanaska-creek-bridge-transformed-into-a-work-of-art

 

Randy Walker, 1875 iron bridge, acrylic fiber 115′ x 17 ‘x 15’

 

Spinning Straw Into Gold: ACC Gold Medalists and Fellows at SOFA Chicago and Online

October 30, 2011 0 Comment

5R CEDAR EXPORT BUNDLE. Ed Rossbach, plaited cedar bark from Washington state with heat transfer drawing, waxed linen, rayon and rags, 5.5″ x 11″ x 9″, 1993, ©Tom Grotta, 2011

This year at SOFA Chicago (November 4-6) the American Craft Council (ACC) will recognize 28 artists who have been awarded an ACC Gold Medal between 1994 and 2010 in a display at the Navy Pier, curated by Michael Monroe. The ACC awards recognize those who have demonstrated outstanding artistic achievement and leadership in the field for 25 years or more.  Since 1981, the ACC has selected just under four dozen artists working in Fiber to receive a Gold Medal for consummate craftsmanship and/or join its College of Fellows.  We’ve mounted an online exhibition of 21 these artists on our website, browngrotta.com, under Awards. Many of these artists are featured in the catalogs published by browngrotta arts and in the videos and other publications we offer. http://www.browngrotta.com/Pages/catalogs.php Works by Fellows and Medalists  Adela Akers, Dorothy Gill Barnes , Lia Cook, Helena Hernmarck, Gyöngy Laky, John McQueen and Norma Minkowitz are featured in our current exhibition,  Stimulus: art and its inception. Enjoy the show.