The Textile Work of Rachelle Gardner-Roe
Even at five years old, if you had asked Rachelle Gardner-Roe what she wanted to be when she grew up, the answer would have been unequivocal. Artist. While she would study Interior Architecture and begin her career in a woodshop, inevitably she came back to the fine arts. Versed in the process of design, her practice grew to include drawing, ceramics, painting, resin and textiles, which has become the connecting element. Gardner-Roe has exhibited her work in galleries and museums across the country. She has been awarded grants and residencies that have allowed for ventures such as exploring installation in the urban environment, studying experimental processes at a national arts center, and engaging in theoretical research and development of signature techniques. Gardner-Roe lives and works in the greater metropolitan area of Kansas City, MO.
Threads to Webs The Textile Work of Rachelle Gardner-Roe
Exhibition Catalogue 2015
ArtsKC Regional Council 106 Southwest Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64108
9.1.2015 – 10.21.2015
Introduction I admit that I was concerned when planning this show. I knew that I didn’t want to do a drawing show, or a sculpture show, or a ceramics show. I wanted a show how it all connects kind of show and highlight what textiles means to my practice. Since I work in different media simultaneously, it fits with how I work and how I live. There is a risk of confusion with that approach though. Unless you are putting on a retrospective, when you go to a solo exhibition, you generally expect to see a focused body of work, and you expect it to be, well, samey. For better or worse, Threads to Webs is not guilty of that. At least twice as much work as could fill the space entered the gallery, if not more. Careful editing meant that some pieces that I had intended to show did not make the cut and much gratitude goes to Erinn Faulconer, Programs Manager at ArtsKC, for her patient assistance during this process. We looked for a balance and a dialogue between works that would provide a visual rhythm. Likewise, the works in this catalogue are organized in roughly the same sequence as was designed to be experienced in the gallery space, rather than grouped categorically. Once again, I risk that the concept works better spatially than in a two-dimensional catalogue, but I will have to let you be the judge. On a final note, I was gratified to be invited to exhibit at ArtksKC and offer my heartfelt gratitude to the entire staff. There is no end to their good works for the artists of Kansas City. Rachelle Gardner-Roe
Exhibition Statement Networks are a part of our everyday lives. We operate within and in tandem with various inter-connected systems in varying degrees of awareness. Digital networks allow for mass information transfer and social networks connect us to one another. At the macro scale, neural networks sustain our perception of reality, and at the grandest scale of all, galactic superclusters form the largest network in the observable universe (which appear eerily similar to neural networks themselves). In this exhibition, we explore an artist’s network of creative output across media, channeled by the fitting devices of the show’s namesake. Threads to Webs combines selected works from several bodies of Gardner-Roe’s work to highlight the connections between seemingly disparate visual themes. While works or series may explore different concepts, the underlying materials and approach to process link various media, creating a network in itself. In practice, the artist flows within this network, simultaneously creating work that can incorporate resin, clay, paint, beadwork, drawing, and all manner of textiles. Results include webs of lace fabric infused and layered with resin until the lace is self-supporting and sculptural. Seemingly amorphous lace panels of intricately stitched detail reveal a landscape when the viewer steps back to see the big picture. Smooth ceramic vessels are punctuated with dense tangles of stitching and beadwork. Quilting and collage techniques are combined (hence, the artistcoined term of “Quillage”) through layers of textiles, stitching and beading. Drawings of “misbehaving” lace webs seem to sprout with organic activity. Seen through a textile lens, this visual network is supported by the very threads and webs used in Gardner-Roe’s work, but it is also held in balance by attentiveness to seeking equilibrium in dualities such as lightness versus heaviness, domesticity versus industrialization, and fragility in concert with strength.
Three Stories Thread, resin, metallic wax finish, acrylic on birch panel 16-½” x 43 x 4” 2013 View Pricing & Availability
New History No. 1 Crochet lace bedspread, ink, glass beads, nails 96 x 68 x 5.5" 2014 View Pricing & Availability
Horizon No. 1 Lace fabric, resin, acrylic paint, birch panel 30 x 40 x 2-½� 2013 View Pricing & Availability
Interdependency Mini No. 2 Silk, cotton, thread, porcelain, glass beads, gel medium 12 x 15 x 1-½� (framed) 2011 View Pricing & Availability
Interdependency Mini No. 6 Shibori-dyed cotton, silk, thread, raku-fired porcelain, glass beads, gel medium 12 x 15 x 1-½� (framed) 2011 View Pricing & Availability
Interdependency No.1 Quilted textiles, porcelain, glass beads, acrylic, brass 27 x 58 x 1" 2014 View Pricing & Availability
Interdependency No.2 Quilted textiles, glass beads, acrylic, brass 30 x 59.5 x 1/2" 2014 View Pricing & Availability
Pillar of‌ No. 1 Thread, resin, metallic wax finish 23.5 x 6.5 x 2.5" 2012 View Pricing & Availability
Pillar of‌ No. 2 Thread, resin, metallic wax finish 24 x 6.5 x 2.5" 2012 View Pricing & Availability
Horizon No. 2 Lace fabric, resin, metallic powders, acrylic paint, birch panel 30 x 40 x 2-½� 2015 View Pricing & Availability
Brimming Slipcast earthenware, metallic thread, glass beads 34 x 3.5 x 3.25� 2011 View Pricing & Availability
Inextricable Slipcast earthenware, metallic thread, glass beads 34 x 3.5 x 3.25� 2011 View Pricing & Availability
Lace Misbehaves No. 10 Colored pencil on paper 15 x 12 x 1-½� (framed) 2011 View Pricing & Availability
Lace Misbehaves No. 4 Colored pencil on paper 15 x 12 x 1-½� (framed) 2011 View Pricing & Availability
Lace Misbehaves No. 11 Colored pencil on paper 15 x 12 x 1-½� (framed) 2011 View Pricing & Availability
Lace Misbehaves No. 13 Colored pencil on paper 15 x 12 x 1-½� (framed) 2011 View Pricing & Availability
Can’t See the Forest for the Trees Cotton and polyester thread 36 x 108 x 1/8� 2012 View Pricing & Availability
Mini Shield Lace fabric, resin, acrylic paint, birch panel 14 x 18 x 5� 2014 View Pricing & Availability
New History No. 2 Crochet lace, ink, glass beads, nails 80.5 x 66 x 5" 2014 View Pricing & Availability
Poke Dots Lace fabric, resin, acrylic paint, aluminum 27 x 46 x 3� 2015 View Pricing & Availability
Spiral Structure No.3 Lace fabric, resin, metallic wax finish 44 x 11 x 10" 2013 View Pricing & Availability
Nova Lace fabric, resin, acrylic paint 32 x 34 x 16" 2015 View Pricing & Availability
Spiral Structure No.1 Lace fabric, resin, metallic wax finish 11.5 x 44 x 10" 2013 View Pricing & Availability