We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of John McQueen last week. He was a remarkable artist. We had long admired his work from afar and over the years had placed several works that he showed at other galleries. We got to know him personally when he began to exhibit with browngrotta arts more than 15 years ago. He visited us in Wilton on several occasions and we traveled to upstate New York to see him and photograph him at work.

McQueen created three-dimensional items of twigs, branches, bark, and sometimes plastic and cardboard, all of material he harvested and collected. These objects included books, fish, birds, lions, and human figures, and vessels and structures, some basket like, others not.  McQueen insisted that he was not a sculptor, but a basketmaker. Containment was a consistent interest. “Baskets connect with the definition of a container — a very broad concept. This room is a container. I am a container. The earth is being contained by its atmosphere. This is so open. I don’t need to worry about reaching the end of it.” (Quoted on the relationship in the catalog for his solo exhibition at the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Language of Containment, in 1992).

McQueen pushed the boundaries of his art form of choice throughout his working life. He created forms of pieced bark, using forms made of cardboard, “paintings” of plastic contained within frames of twigs and branches, and integrated sly and subtle messages throughout his works. Words entered his works in 1979 in Untitled #88, in which a web of words creates the container in part and conveys an idea — “Always is always a ways away.” His subsequent works abounded with puns, rebuses, and messages to be deciphered.

Man’s fruitless efforts to control nature were a frequent subject of McQueen’s art. As Vicki Halper observed in The Language of Containment, for McQueen “[t]he basket becomes an agent for investigating the fragile truce between humans and nature.” In Falling Fruit, for example, tiny stick figures are mounted beside sharks and palm trees made of twigs.  We may think we can control our world, but McQueen’s camouflage-like scene suggests otherwise. As Nature does, McQueen offers surprising combinations that remind us that life is not predictable. 

In 2022, McQueen decided to take on a project that would take him a year. This was an approach regularly taken by his life partner, artist Margo Mensing, who would choose a subject — generally a person — and spend a year creating artworks, poetry, performances, and multi-media installations in response. For McQueen, the result of his year’s work was 1000 Leaves, an assemblage of individually crafted structures that paid homage to trees, the source of the material that gave life to his work.

McQueen was born in Oakland, Illinois in 1943. He received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida (where Jim Morrison was his roommate). After college he went to New Mexico where his interest in basketmaking began. Courses in weaving were a logical entry point to basketry so he enrolled in the Master’s program at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, where he studied with Adela Akers among others. He received many awards in his career including an artist fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts, a Visual Artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, a United States/Japan Friendship Commission Fellowship, a Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award, the Master of the Medium Award from the James Renwick Alliance, and the Gold Medal from the American Craft Council. His work is found in numerous permanent collections, including that of the Museum of Arts and Design, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Kunstindustrimuseum, Trondheim, Norway, Detroit Institute of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

McQueen’s art stirs powerful feelings in viewers, forcing them to think about construction and words, metaphysically and literally.  “McQueen’s genius lies in finding a simple declarative means of speaking about paradox, essences, and fundamental truth,” Elizabeth Broun, then-director of the National Museum of American Art observed. His genius will be greatly missed.

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First up was February 2025 II, by the late Lija Rage (LV). “I create my fiber works by painting little sticks and wrapping them in copper wire, by gluing and sowing, putting layer upon layer until the work seems finished,” Rage once explained.  “Textile and fiber art are modern arts. I believe that modern world culture cannot be closed. Each of us grows up from the culture we live in, through centuries, which further on is subjected to other impacts and becomes interwoven with the world culture influences.” Rage aimed to create “a mystique where each thread, metal shard, or sliver of wood discovers its unique place, contributing to an emotionally charged entirety.” 

Heartwood by Gyöngy Laky (US) was next. Laky explained the origins of the work and its name: “In 2005, I paused in awe before a majestic Ash Tree in front of Customwood Furniture in San Francisco—founded in 1946 by the renowned designer Arthur Hanna. I met Arthur and a delightful friendship ensued. Whenever the Ash was pruned, his trimmer would deliver a great pile of beautiful Ash cuttings. The Tree is still there though Arthur is not. While working with Ash on a recent piece, I found myself continually sensing the nodes and branches as suggestive of human anatomy. One day, my friend and neighbor, architect Teri Behm, walked into my studio and anticipated my title, Heartwood, when she remarked, “Those pieces look like parts of a heart.”

In Floating Upstream, Marianne Kemp (NL) explores how horizontal and vertical reference lines fade into the background, when coupled with random knotting of horsehair, which shifts the viewer’s focus. The interplay of overlapping textures and translucency is key to softening the otherwise bold composition. The single, straight, horizontal line, formed by the wooden dowel, brings balance to the piece. Kemp’s work is deeply influenced by her travels. Her explorations across Europe, and to places such as Mexico, Japan, Africa, and Mongolia, have further enriched her artistic vocabulary. 

Last but not at all least, we focused on Naoko Serino’s Rooted 4. “I have been creating artworks using only jute for 28 years,” Serino (JP) says. She is grateful to be able to convey the charm of jute, which she does in three-dimensional expressions that incorporate light and air. “Life and nature are constantly changing, and every moment holds its own significance. An invisible force stimulates me, and the memories it awakens inspire my artworks. I pour my feelings into my artworks, allowing them to speak through the material.”

Enjoy the recap!

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Our in-person exhibitions at browngrotta arts last only 10 days each, twice a year. There’s a method to that, but, the small window means not everyone gets to see our exhibitions on site. We’ve tried various ways to share images and information about them after the in-person exhibit ends. This year, for Field Notes: an art survey, we have created three ways to share the experience with those who could not attend.

First, we created a video view of Field Notes. You can see it in sections — each devoted to a gallery space (Gallery 1: Front Hall; Gallery 2: Dining Room; Gallery 3: Living Room; Gallery 4: Den/Old Kitchen; Gallery 5: New Kitchen; Gallery 6: Back Room. They’ll appear on Instagram each Friday on art live, one each for 6 weeks. The first, Gallery 1, was posted on our Instagram on Friday. If you don’t watch them piecemeal, you can see the full video of all six galleries is on our YouTube Channel (see below).

Second, we’ve created a Viewing Room on our website that contains all the works in Field Notes, again, divided into six galleries. You can match works that interest you from the videos to the Viewing Room Galleries where you will see more images of each. We’ll have the Field Notes Viewing Rooms up on our website until June 20, 2025.

Third, we’ll be hosting a program on Zoom, Art on the Rocks: an exhibition talkthrough with spirits — Field Notes edition on June 10th at 7 pm EST. We’ll talk about fiber art’s new found popularity and share insights about the survey we took in order explore where fiber art is at this point. We’ll also feature a curated cocktail from our mixologist, Max Fanwick.

Check in on one, two or all three of these, to learn more!

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Coming from the east? The first major presentation of Tracey Emin’s work in a North American museum is currently at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut. The exhibition, Tracey Emin: I Loved you Until Morning, features paintings from 2007 to the present. Together, the works demonstrate the artist’s unflinching commitment to challenging conceptions of female experience.

While you are in New Haven, you can also see a 10-foot-tall pyramid made of hundreds of thin tree branches that has been installed in the Yale Art Gallery’s Margaret and Angus Wurtele Sculpture Garden, Monument (Pyramid), a 2022 work by the prominent contemporary sculptor Maren Hassinger.

Coming from New York or other parts west? The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut is hosting a very interesting exhibition of sculptures by Isamu Noguchi. Isamu Noguchi: Metal the Mirror, features a selection of nine galvanized steel sculptures, the exhibition is organized into thematic groupings that showcase the artist’s mastery of material, form, and texture. In the first, Noguchi imparts inanimate forms with human qualities, complicating the relationship between flesh and steel, body and mirror. Man-made material is transformed into representations of mountains, fruit, and sky in the second grouping, reflecting Noguchi’s belief that, in modernity, industry and nature are intertwined. A final trio of works reveals Noguchi’s ongoing interest in abstraction, bringing theoretical and spiritual ideas, weight and weightlessness, and past and present into visual conversation.

Coming to Wilton on May 10th? You can visit Field Notes and three other textile art exhibitions at the Silvermine Art Gallery in New Canaan, CT.  Fiber 2025 has been juried by Tom Grotta and Rhonda Brown of browngrotta arts. An international exhibition, it seeks to showcase the best of contemporary fiber art, reflecting the breadth of functional or non-functional works that use fiber and/or fiber art techniques in traditional or innovative ways. In conjunction with Fiber 2025, are two exhibitions curated by browngrotta arts in the Silvermine Galleries: Masters of the Medium, CT, highlighting the work of acclaimed Connecticut artists Helena Hernmarck and Norma Minkowitz, and Mastery and Materiality: International, featuring work by 17 artists from nine countries, including renowned Jacquard weavers, accomplished embroiderers, and fiber sculptors who work in seaweed, bark, wire, paper straws, lead, and fish scales.

Coming to Field Notes another day during its 10-day run? You can see art in the neighborhood in New Canaan or Ridgefield. Barbara Kasten: Structure, Light, Land is at The Glass House in New Canaan — 8.4 miles away. For five decades, Chicago-based artist Barbara Kasten has created photographs and sculptural installations that reorient our sense of perception and explore the dynamic relationship between space, material, and form. Structure, Light, Land features Kasten’s work from multiple series, including Architectural Sites, Collisions, and Progressions, as well as new iterations of digital projections, cyanotypes, and sculptures. With a striking interplay of light, color, and form, Kasten’s work infiltrates the grounds of The Glass House and responds to the site’s varied built environment and landscape. 

Or, visit A Garden of Promise and Dissent at the Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, just 6.2 miles from browngrotta arts. The exhibition spans the grounds, featuring works by eight multigenerational artists who explore future gardens as embodiments of imagination and rebellion.  
Looking forward to seeing you in May! 

Exhibition Details:

Field Notes: an art survey
browngrotta arts
276 Ridgefield Rd
Wilton, CT 06897
May 3 – 11, 2025
Saturday, May 3rd: 11am to 6pm 
Sunday, May 4th: 11am to 6pm 
Monday, May 5th through Saturday, May 10th: 10am to 5pm 
Sunday, May 11th: 11am to 6pmSafety protocols:
Reservations strongly encouraged.
No narrow heels please (barn floors)
https://browngrotta.com/exhibitions/field-notes

Fiber 2025
(juried by browngrotta arts)
Masters of the Medium: CT
Mastery and Materiality: International
(curated by browngrotta arts)
May 10 – June 19, 2025
Silvermine Galleries
1037 Silvermine Road
New Canaan, CT
Closed Sunday + Monday
https://browngrotta.com/events/events

Tracey Emin: I Loved You Until Morning
Through August 10, 2025
The Yale Center for British Art
1080 Chapel Street
New Haven, Connecticut 06510
Closed Monday
https://britishart.yale.edu/exhibitions-programs/tracey-emin-i-loved-you-until-morning

Isamu Noguchi: Metal the Mirror
Through November 16, 2025
The Bruce Museum
1 Museum Drive
Greenwich, CT 06830-7157
Closed Monday
https://brucemuseum.org/whats-on/isamu-noguchi-metal-the-mirror

Barbara Kasten: Structure, Light, Land
Through December 15, 2025
The Glass House Visitor Center + Design Store             
199 Elm Street, New Canaan, CT 06840                     
Closed Tuesday + Wednesday
https://theglasshouse.org/pressrelease/barbara-kasten-structure-light-land-april-17-december-15-2025/

A Garden of Promise and Dissent
Through December 17, 2025
The Aldrich
258 Main Street
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Closed Tuesday 
https://thealdrich.org/exhibitions/a-garden-of-promise-and-dissent-outdoor-installation

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We were thrilled in January when Artsy reported that fiber art is experiencing a resurgence, a trend Artsy expects ” to take hold across the contemporary art world in 2025.” In its “Trends to Watch” item Artsy featured several artists, including Lia Cook, Adela Akers, and Sheila Hicks.  

Shortly after that, American Craft Magazine asked to do a profile on Tom, Rhonda, and browngrotta arts. We are excited that the article, “A World of Fiber,” by Deborah Bishop — out now — gave us the chance to showcase so many of the artists that we promote. We appreciated the care that Deborah Bishop took with all the details and her writing that, “Among the few decades of global and multi-generational fiber arts, browngrotta arts is revered for its beautiful documentation of the craft.”

browngrotta arts got a nice listing in Museums1. 

Our recent exhibition, Japandí Revisited: shared influences and aesthetics, at the Wayne Art Center in Pennsylvania got a nice review in artblog  

A nice photo of works by Ulla-Maija Vikman and Mia Olsson that we loaned to the Garrido Gallery for their exhibition at the Salon Art + Design show in 2023, appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of Art & Object.

Meanwhile, artists we work with were getting good coverage for their artistic pursuits and more. Hali Magazine ran a detailed and beautifully photographed article about James Bassler, whose work will be included in our upcoming exhibition, Field Notes: an art survey. In “An artist’s life,” Elaine Phipps explores his work, “within the context of his time and place in the American cultural landscape of the 1950s to the present day.” Phipps tracks the nuances of his growth and development as an artist/weaver, and the expanded world view and deep appreciation of a wide range of historic and ethnographic textile traditions that “transformed his creative process into new working methods.”

In its Fall 2024 issue, Fiber Art Now ran an insightful profile of Dutch Artist Marianne Kemp, “Achieving the Perfect Balance,” by Noelle Foye. Kemp’s work will also be in Field Works at browngrotta arts in May. Foye writes that Kemp has two parts to her weaving process. “There is the creative, poetic side of weaving — the feel, the touch, the colors. Then there is the technical side, which involves the mechanical challenges of manipulating the loom to translate the creative vision into reality.”

The magazine also headlined Nancy Koenigsberg’s work, Copper Patches, in its Summer 2024 issue.

An article in the Fall 2024/Winter 2025 issue of basketry+ Magazine looked back at the first 10 years of the National Basketry Organization, illustrated with work by Jennifer Falck Linssen, Kari Lønning, and Nancy Moore Bess. Linssen’s work will be included in Field Notes.

Norma Minkowitz’s achievements as an athlete and an artist were described in “Runner’s World” by Sara Gaynes Levy, in the January 2025 issue of Westport Lifestyle. Levy writes, “The world-record mile time for a woman aged 85-89 is nine minutes, 45 seconds, 45 tenths of a second. And it belongs to Westport resident, Norma Minkowitz, 87.” The article notes that Minkowitz is a world-renowned artist as well whose work is in 35 museum collections worldwide. “There’s a connection between running and art the way I do it,” the article quotes Minkowitz as saying. “My work is in fiber, and the process is to do this crochet stitch over and over. It’s very repetitive, as is running.” Minkowitz’s work will be included in Field Notes at browngrotta arts.

Last, but not at all least, the passing of Hiroyuki Shindo, an exceptional indigo artist from Japan was noted by in the selvedge blog,”Lives Well-Lived: Horoyuki Shindo (1941-2024).” 

He was also remembered in Text, the Textile Society Magazine. Both remembrances were written by Jenny Balfour-Paul and each featured images of Shindo and his work by Tom Grotta.  

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We’ve been excited by the reaction to our Japandí Revisited partnership with the Wayne Art Center in Pennsylvania. Attendance has been good to date. Tours of viewers have been scheduled including the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia and the American Swedish Historical Museum. There are 10 more days to see the exhibition and the two of us (Tom Grotta and Rhonda Brown) will be at Wayne on January 25, 2025 for the closing reception from 1 pm to 4 pm. 

The Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Gallery, where Japandí Revisited is installed, is airy and full of indirect light. In the exhibition we’ve had the opportunity to place Japanese and Scandinavian works side by side, so viewers can see the affinities for themselves. Flowers by Keiji Nio (JP) is hung next to Kari Lønning’s (NO) work Horn. In an imaginative merger of technology and tradition, Nio takes photographs, silkscreens the images on ribbons that he braids using Japanese technique kumihimo. In Horn, Lønning works with akebia, a vine found in the Northeast US. Horn is the largest work that Lønning has created from akebia.

Agneta Hobin’s Clair de Lune (FI) fans made of steel and mica are displayed next to Oh! Precious by Hirohito Sato-Pijanowski (JP/US)i. Pijanowski’s work is made of glued paper cord. Both works use unusual materials — mica and paper cord — to create shine. Both reflect the exquisite craftsmanship that is another element of Japandí design.

On another wall is Gudrun Pagter’s (DK) abstract, Framed, of wool, hangs beside Masakazu Kobayashi’s (JP) Bow White of layered silk and aluminum bows, each illustrating a preference for neutrals and primary colors, clean lines, and minimal ornamentation that are a third element of Japandí style.

Eva Vargo’s (SE) Book of Changes and Toshio Sekiji’s (JP) Counterpoint 8 appear on the same wall. In another spot in the gallery, appears Helena Hernmarck’s (SE/US), Shredded Memories series, in which strips of letters by her mother are incorporated into weavings.  Each of these works transforms used paper into art. Each repurposes materials and, central to these cultures’ approaches, each reflects respect for old and cherished items.

Appreciation for natural materials is the fifth element attributed to Japandí style. The exhibition combines baskets of multiple materials made by artists from several countries. Bamboo, jasmine, walnut and cedar baskets by Hisako Sekijima join ramie works by Noriko Takamiya, and works of jute by Naoko Serino of Japan. Works of handmade paper and twigs by Jane Balsgaard of Denmark are shown as are works of willow with catkins still attached and crowberry root by Markku Kosonen of Finland.

Hope you get a chance to visit Japandí.

Details through January 25th:
Japandí Revisited: shared aesthetics and influences
Wayne Art Center 
413 Maplewood Avenue
Wayne, PA 19087

Dates: 
Through January 25, 2025

Events:
Curator’s Talk: 
Saturday, January 25, 1:00 – 2:00 pm

Closing Reception:
Saturday, January 25 | 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Gallery Hours:
January 2025 (free admission)
Monday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday Closed

Also on exhibit at the Wayne Art Center is Craftforms, an international juried exhibition of contemporary fine craft.

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A more unusual material choice — assembling items made of materials from the sea, will also result in a wildly diverse group of works. We’re showing baskets of seaweed, wall work of fish skin and fish scales, and works that incorporate sea sand and sea stones. 

Collecting by artist can yield a broad mix of results. Choosing a category, like Polish, LQBTQ+ or self-taught artists, can result in considerable variation. Even a single artist, if it is one who experiments relentlessly like Jiro Yonezawa, can ground a surprising collection.

There are four very different works by this artist in Ways of Seeing, and they don’t even include the wide bamboo spheres which he has created more recently. 

Basketmaker Hisako Sekijima, who has worked in everything from cherry bark to kudzu is another example of someone who can be collected in multiples. Lia Cook is another — her practice has moved in several different and exciting ways through out her career.

Then there are them groupings — we are showing art related to water, but even a color, like Picasso’s blue period, can be an energizing organizing principle. We’ve gathered weavings and objects that meet that criteria: 

There are a few days to see our compilations in person. Or you can order the catalog: https://store.browngrotta.com/c-54-ways-of-seeing/

Happy Hunting!

Ways of Seeing: how individuals envision and curate their art collections

Through September 29, 2024
browngrotta arts
276 Ridgefield Road
Wilton, CT 06897
https://browngrotta.com/exhibitions

Gallery Dates/Hours:
Monday, September 23rd through Saturday, September 28th: 10am to 5pm (40 visitors/ hour) Sunday, September 29th: 11am to 6pm [Final Day] (40 visitors/ hour)

Safety protocols: 
Reservations strongly encouraged; No narrow heels please (barn floors)

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As we turn the page on November, our online doors remain open for exploration. You can continue to discover the captivating work from Vignettes on our website, where the artistry of Dorothy Gill Barnes, Glen Kaufman, and more continues to shine. Additionally, our exhibition Abundance of Objects graces Artsy, showcasing an impressive array of baskets, ceramics, and sculptures from over three dozen accomplished artists.

Now, we invite you to revisit the highlights of our New This Week features throughout the last month. Read on for more!

Our month began with a spotlight on Naomi Kobayashi, an exceptional textile artist and sculptor whose contributions to contemporary art are both profound and enduring.

Kobayashi’s artistic journey is a tale of dedication and innovation. She began her career by crafting highly constructed, sculptural works of thread, showcasing her mastery of textile artistry. However, her creative path led her to explore new avenues, particularly constructions, often using paper as her medium. These creations exude an airy, ephemeral quality that sets them apart, inviting viewers to engage with her art in unique and profound ways.

And yes, before you even ask, her artwork is included in Abundance of Objects as a part of the Vignettes exhibition on Artsy from now until December 13!

Up next in November, we focused on the talented Karyl Sisson, a visionary artist located in Los Angeles. Sisson’s artistic path is a testament to her ability to weave together the threads of everyday life, both past and present, to craft sculptural and textured forms that transcend traditional boundaries. Her work is an exploration of patterns, repetition, and structure, woven together through her foundation in basketry and needlework.

One can’t help but be captivated by Sisson’s ability to confront domesticity and challenge traditional gender roles through her innovative use of materials. Her recent work with paper straws, for example, draws inspiration from the intricate world of cells and organisms, resulting in creations that seem to grow naturally and organically.

Sisson is yet another artist featured in An Abundance of Objects as part of our Vignettes series online on Artsy.

Moving further into November, we highlighted the captivating works of Katherine Westphal, a visionary artist with a profound knack for exploring surface, pattern, and decoration. Westphal’s creative journey was a continuous exploration of her medium, whether it was textiles, quilts, clothing, or baskets.

What truly set Westphal apart was her fearless embrace of fractured and surprising images, which became a signature element of her work. Her collages were vibrant, combining bold imagery with bright colors, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the visual tapestries she composed.

Drawing from her background in painting, Westphal’s process was one of building up and breaking down, allowing her textiles to evolve in an organic and unpredictable manner. Each piece was a fusion of cutting, sewing, embroidery, quilting, tapestry, and fringes, guided by her intuitive and visual senses until she felt the message was complete.

Notably, Westphal was an early pioneer in incorporating color photocopies into her work, showcasing her innovative spirit. Her legacy is celebrated in our ongoing Vignettes exhibition, where her art continues to inspire and tell its unique story.

Wrapping up our artistic journey through November, we cast our spotlight on Laura Foster Nicholson, a renowned textile artist celebrated for her exquisite handwoven tapestries.

Nicholson’s art speaks to the intersection of art and craft, where each thread is carefully chosen, and every image is intentional. Her dedication to her practice is evident in her extensive lecture and teaching experience, sharing her knowledge and passion with others who are drawn to the world of textile art.

Throughout her career, Nicholson’s distinctive style has left an indelible mark on the art world, captivating audiences with her ability to transform threads into captivating narratives. Her works are not just tapestries; they are vibrant stories woven with the threads of creativity and imagination.

As November comes to an end, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated community of art enthusiasts and supporters. Your unwavering encouragement fuels our passion for bringing the world of contemporary art to life. With the holiday season just around the corner, we are excited to continue sharing the beauty and creativity of our featured artists with you.

Don’t forget, our online viewing room for An Abundance of Objects on Artsy remains open for exploration until December 13. Thank you for being a part of the browngrotta arts community, and we can’t wait to see what December has in store!

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Americans for the Arts, Ports of Cause, The Woven Community, Connecticut Institute for Immigrants and Refugees, Sunflower of Peace, and the World Affairs Council.

We are excited to announce that this Fall our Art for a Cause organization is cArtie, the mobile art museum. browngrotta arts is pledging 5% of the profits from sales during our Fall in-person exhibition, Vignettes: one venue, three exhibitions (October 7 – 15th) to cARTie, a passionate nonprofit organization committed to empowering communities through art and education. By attending our exhibition and purchasing artworks, visitors directly support cARTie’s cause. Additionally, we are collecting cash and check donations made out to “cARTie,” onsite helping us make an even greater impact.

You can also contribute online or by mail. Send your checks to cARTie, 326 Navajo Loop, Shelton, CT 06484. Your contribution, whether through art purchases or donations, goes a long way to foster creativity and education. Join us in creating a brighter future for aspiring artists and learners.

More about cARTie:

1. cARTie is Connecticut’s first and only nonprofit mobile art museum bus committed to bridging inequities in education and arts access across the state. cARTie’s programming is focused on high-school student-artists, entire communities, and PreK-2 students with limited access to the arts in education. 

1. cARTie ensures all young children positive and prolonged early introductions to museum-based learning and opportunities for developing critical and creative thinking dispositions. 

1. cARTie will work with 5,000+ PreK-2 students this year and 27 elementary and pre-schools across the state with limited access to the arts in education (up from 17 last year and 7 the year before). cARTie visits these partners multiple times throughout the year, to help nurture students’ critical and creative thinking, as well as their museum habits of mind.

You can learn more about about cARTie on its website: https://www.cartie.org/

Schedule your visit to Vignettes: one venue, three exhibitions, and its three included exhibitions, Dorothy Gill Barnes: a way with wood; Glen Kaufman Elegant Eloquence; and An Abundance of Objects on Eventbrite.

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Throughout the month of June, we have been captivated by the diverse and thought-provoking creations of these artists. From Wilson’s boundary-pushing fiber art to Rossbach’s innovative weaving techniques and unconventional materials, each artwork invites us to explore new dimensions of artistic expression.

Join us as we delve into the artistic journeys of these remarkable individuals, uncovering the inspirations, techniques, and stories behind their extraordinary works!

At the beginning of this month, we turned our spotlight to the extraordinary talent of Anne Wilson, a Chicago-based visual artist whose groundbreaking work pushes the boundaries of fiber art. Wilson’s artistic journey is a testament to her relentless pursuit of innovation and her ability to extend traditional processes into new media.

With her diverse range of mediums including sculpture, drawings, photography, performance, and stop-motion animations, Wilson seamlessly weaves together table linens, bed sheets, human hair, lace, glass, thread, and wire to create mesmerizing and thought-provoking compositions. Her art reflects a deep exploration of materiality, weaving together threads of emotion, history, and culture.

We think it’s safe to say that her meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail are evident in every piece she creates. Through her art, Wilson explores themes of identity, memory, and the complex interplay between the personal and the universal.

Next, we direct our attention to the remarkable artist Ed Rossbach. Rossbach was a visionary who made significant contributions to the world of fiber art. His artistic journey spanned decades, and his innovative techniques and unique approach to materials left an indelible mark on the field.

Rossbach’s exploration of weaving went beyond traditional boundaries, as he fearlessly incorporated unconventional materials such as plastics, foam rubber, and plastic tape into his works. His creations defied categorization, blurring the lines between sculpture, textiles, and mixed media. With an astute eye for detail and a penchant for experimentation, Rossbach crafted intricate and captivating pieces that challenged the notions of what fiber art could be.

Throughout his career, Rossbach’s work evolved and diversified, showcasing his mastery of various artistic mediums. From his groundbreaking dimensional weaving in the 1960s to his later explorations of cast paper techniques and mixed-media sculpture, his artistic trajectory was one of continuous growth and innovation. Through his artworks, Rossbach invites us to reimagine the possibilities of fiber as a medium and challenges us to see the world in new and exciting ways, and he will be forever cherished for it!

Later in the month, we shifted our focus to the remarkable artist Adela Akers, a Spanish-born textile and fiber artist with a rich and influential career spanning several decades. Since the 1950s, Akers has been at the forefront of the modern fiber art movement, making groundbreaking contributions to the field.

Through her innovative techniques and profound artistic expressions, Akers continues to inspire and captivate audiences with her thought-provoking creations. Her work serves as a bridge between traditional textile practices and contemporary art, pushing boundaries and expanding the possibilities of fiber as a medium. Adela Akers’ legacy as a trailblazing artist and her unwavering commitment to her craft make her an indispensable figure in the world of contemporary fiber art.

Along the way, Akers has received many prestigious awards, including grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. In 2014, she was selected as an artist-in-residence at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, further solidifying her standing as an influential figure in the art community.

Last, but certainly not least, we immerse ourselves in the captivating world of Katherine Westphal, a visionary artist known for her innovative approach to surface, pattern, and decoration in textiles, quilts, clothing, and baskets. Westphal’s artistic journey was marked by a distinct exploration of fractured and random images, which became a signature element of her work.

Her collages were a fusion of bold imagery and vibrant colors, reflecting her background and training as a painter. With a keen eye for composition and a willingness to experiment, she allowed the textile to evolve organically, embracing a process of building up and breaking down. Guided by her intuitive and visual senses, she incorporated techniques such as cutting, sewing, embroidery, quilting, tapestry, and fringing, until she felt the message was complete.

Westphal’s artistic legacy continues to inspire and influence contemporary fiber artists, as her boundary-pushing spirit and commitment to creative exploration remain as relevant today as ever.

As we conclude our journey through the remarkable artworks of Anne Wilson, Ed Rossbach, Adela Akers, and Katherine Westphal, we are left in awe of the depth and diversity of their artistic contributions. These artists have pushed boundaries, challenged conventions, and invited us to see the world through their unique perspectives. We hope that this month’s Art Assembled blog has inspired you, sparked your curiosity, and ignited a newfound appreciation for the power of art. Join us again next month as we continue to explore the captivating world of contemporary art and introduce you to more extraordinary artists. Thank you for joining us on this artistic adventure!

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