Tansey Contemporary Presents Fictitious Fiber

TANSEY CONTEMPORARY Presents

“FICTITIOUS FIBER” Curated by Jane Sauer

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FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

Contents Ran Adler..........................................................................................................................................

Ann B. Coddington.........................................................................................................................

Tom Eckert........................................................................................................................................

Melanie Ferguson ...........................................................................................................................

Jim Kraft.............................................................................................................................................

Kait Rhoads.......................................................................................................................................

Nancy Newman Rice......................................................................................................................

Harue Shimomoto............................................................................................................................

Susanna Starr....................................................................................................................................

Jane Sauer’s curator essay.............................................................................................................

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Ran Adler ARTIST STATEMENT

“As an artist of assemblage, I use a variety of natural components with the common characteristic of having grown around us on the periphery, with neither encouragement nor interference of man. Through a process of gathering, sorting, cutting , weaving, wiring and sometimes burning, I manipulate these elements to achieve a new essence of form and texture, in objects simultaneously organic and iconic.�

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

NATURE’S TAPESTRY Mahogany Pods, fishing line, aluminum crimps 6’ x 8’

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THE ELDER Mahogany Pods, driftwood 7’ x 2’

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

THE ALTAR OF PRAYER Dired sea grapes on wire 7’ x 18”

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Ann B. Coddington ARTIST STATEMENT

“My artwork borrows fiber techniques from the traditional craft of basketry to create a sculptural expression of my beliefs and experiences and how they are sensed by the body. I am intrigued by the differences between feeling and knowing, body and mind.

Ineffable memories held by the body are more potent, penetrating, and enduring than those in the mind. My forms are actuated by this somatic memory in conjunction with an investigation of the dichotomies: eternal and ephemeral, strength and fragility, masculine and feminine, free and captive, old and young, living and dead.

As the world becomes increasingly technological, my work moves in the opposite direction to the point where now I tie two pieces of string together, bend some sticks, form plaster in my hands, and mold clay. Reducing art-making down to the most elemental means of expression, the simplest creative task challenges and satisfies me.

Much of my current artwork pushes back against the world of increasingly complex technologies that, paradoxically, in an effort to connect us, instead separates and isolates us, removing us from authentic experience. The slow building of one stitch upon another exists within an ancient time frame, virtually un-experienced in the contemporary, digital society.

My art is my voice, more than my words and in my work, feeling overshadows knowing.�

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Ann Coddington is an Associate Professor at Eastern Illinois University Art Department teaching in Foundations and Graduate Studies. She received her MFA from the University of Illinois Sculpture Department in 1993, and her BFA from the Colorado State University Fibers Department in 1986.

Ann utilizes a variety of fiber techniques including twining and netting in her sculptural forms. She has exhibited her work at venues including: Craft Alliance Gallery in St. Louis, the Society for Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago, and the Weston Art Gallery in Cincinnati. Over the past two years, Ann taught workshops at the Penland School of Crafts, the National Basketry Organization conference, the Los Angeles Basketry Guild, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and at the University of Northern Texas. Coddington received an individual artist project grant from the Illinois Arts Council in 2012. She also received an individual grant in 2000, and a finalist grant in 2004 and 2008.

She says of her work: “We live in a world of increasingly complex technologies that paradoxically, in their effort to connect us, instead separate and isolate us, removing us from authentic experience. As the world becomes more complex, I am driven to simplify. I tie two pieces of string together, bend some sticks, form plaster in my hands.

I love the feel and smell of the materials. The slow building of one stitch upon stitch exists within an ancient time frame, virtually never experienced in the contemporary technological world.

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FLOCK Ceramic slip-cast, glazed birds from woven originals 14” x 14” x 2” (per winged bird) 14” x 2” x 2” (per wingless bird)

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

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Tom Eckert ARTIST STATEMENT “ My sculptures are formed entirely of wood and then painted. I use traditional

processes to carve, construct, laminate and paint the pieces. I prefer working with basswood, linden and limewood (all very similar), chosen because they carve and paint well and are very stable. Coming from a painting and drawing background, I am still interested in applying some of those techniques to my sculptures. My choice of paint is mostly waterborne lacquer applied using both spray guns and brushes Forms carved to suggest cloth recur in many of my pieces. By tradition, cloth has been widely used to conceal and shroud objects in practices ranging from advertising to church rituals. Covered forms are often more evocative - with a sense of mystery absent from the uncovered object by itself. I remember in church one Lent, as a child, being mystified while gazing at the statues shrouded with purple cloth.

Much of my work is about creating illusions. Since childhood, I have been curious about and amused by mistaken impressions of reality presented as part of my visual experiences. One of my earliest recollections, on a car trip, was my perception of the wet, slick highway ahead that turned out to be an illusion, a mirage. The revelation that I was fooled, visually and intellectually tricked, stuck with me. This visual deception is now the basis for my creative direction. “Cloth” carved of wood has much different structural qualities than real cloth. When this fact is applied to my compositions (floating book, floating cards, floating rock) a sense of the impossible happens - for me, magic.”

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Tom Eckert received his M.F.A. degree from Arizona State University, with advanced study at California State University at Northridge. He uses a wide variety of woodworking techniques in his sculptural pieces, including laminating, bending, carving, turning and painting. Exhibited in over 170 national and international exhibitions since 1966, his work is displayed throughout the United States and was part of the Craft in America traveling exhibition.

Internationally, his work has been published in the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Austria, Australia, China, South Korea, Holland, Iran and Israel. Solo exhibitions include Scottsdale Center for the Arts (AZ), Tempe Center for the Arts (AZ), Mesa Center for the Arts (AZ), Lois Lambert Gallery (CA), Mobilia Gallery (MA), Himovitz Miller Gallery (CA), West Valley Art Museum (AZ) and Gallery Materia/The Hand and the Spirit Gallery (AZ).

Numerous publications include Scientific American - Mind, Studio Furniture, American Craft, Art Space, and Fine Woodworking. His many commissions include McDonald’s Corporation, OSI Industries, Arizona Governor’s Award, and Apple Computer Inc. His work is included in many private and public collections including Los Angeles County Art Museum (CA), Racine Art Museum (WI), Museum of Fine Arts (MA), Museum of Arts & Design (New York), Albuquerque Museum (NM), Tweed Museum of Art (MN), Sheldon Museum of Art (NE), El Paso Museum of Art (TX), Tucson Museum of Art (AZ), Coconino Center for the Arts (AZ), Yuma Fine Arts Center (AZ). He received a Visual Arts Fellowship from the Arizona Commission on the Arts twice and was awarded WESTAF/ NEA grants in 1993 and 1989. An interview transcript is available online through the Smithsonian Audio Archives, Washington, D.C.

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CRUSHED Basswood, Lacquer 4” x 19” x 11”

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

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SEVEN Basswood, Lacquer 6.5” x 11” x 2.5”

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

DRYOPE Basswood, Lacquer 16” x 10” x 3”

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Melanie Ferguson ARTIST STATEMENT

“My goal is to establish a form and surface visual that expresses an edge of uncertainty and vulnerability with the power to initiate a dialogue with the story discovered within — a story that invites pause and ultimately engages our next move.”

Eroding hillsides, the swirling ripple on water’s surface, the rhythmic patterns of ocean flora and fauna all provide me with endless relationship intrigue; their associated shadow and reflection, sound, smell, and effortless energy feeds my inner spirit. As an artist, these key sensory “notes” inspire creative concept by revealing a story that challenges my expression through any given medium, utilizing elements that demand physical involvement in building form and surface to expose the energy and freedom of spirit. Using stoneware or earthenware, I hand-build my sculptural forms to preserve this symbolic gesture of energy. Coiling the clay, I paddle the form’s surface to engage with its inner resonance, reminiscent of tidal rhythm and flow as the form evolves with direction and movement. I then add oxide stains (usually copper and iron), clay-based slips, color pigmented underglaze, and sgraffito techniques to establish a surface visual that maps the spirited dance within. I engage many firing methods appropriate for each work, with a preference for atmospheric firing. How the surface elements attract and cast flame plays an integral role in the evolution of the story that ultimately engages the beginning of my next work.

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Born in the seaport town of Newport, Oregon, Melanie Ferguson’s interest in art is richly influenced by her ocean surroundings and nourished by assisting, studying, and working with coastal artists and native elders. She experimented with many artistic forms of expression, subsequently focusing on the properties of hand blown sheet glass and the theory of “painting with light”, evolving a personal narrative style applied to architectural and commercial glass commissions. This venture in glass grew to include a love for the process of graphic design which prompted a move to Washington State’s Puget Sound in 1983 where she later studied Visual Communication at Northwest College of Art. Following a three-year placement as designer and account manager for a leading Puget Sound advertising agency, Melanie firmly established herself as a freelance agent specializing in branding identity and product design, serving corporate, municipal, and non-profit clients from 1990 - 2005. A longtime desire to live in the Southeastern United States initiated a move to the state of Georgia where she began full-time study in contemporary ceramics at Roswell Art Center West in 2007, exploring the sculptural quality of hand-built form and the narrative grace of surface with a special focus on wood, soda, and atmospheric firing. Today, her works are exhibited nationally and internationally as she continues her artistic exploration of sculptural form and surface from her Loch Highland studio near Roswell, Georgia.

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MY MOOD, IT BLOOMS LIKE FLOWERS Hand built stoneware, sgraffito through layered underglaze, hand-rubbed beeswax finish 19” x 12”

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

BY A FREEWAY, I CONFESS Melanie Ferguson Hand built stoneware, sgraffito through layered underglaze 21” x 11”

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SHE GIVES THE NIGHT ITS DREAMS Hand built Georgia red clay, underglaze, glaze 16” x 9”

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

WEAVING STONES FROM ADAM PURPLE’S GARDEN Hand built stoneware, sgraffito through layered underglaze, hand-rubbed beeswax finish 18” x 15”

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Jim Kraft ARTIST STATEMENT

“My work in clay has been a succession/evolution of ideas over a thirty year period. I take certain elements that “work” in one series and often build the next series based on those elements. That could include the color of the clay body, the colors of the surface treatment, the texture of the surface, the form or the building technique.

I enjoy working with the idea in mind of smaller parts making up the whole. Tiles covering a wall. Vessels made with coil and brick-like pieces, or cut and torn clay parts that make a vessel look basket-like. The vessel form appeals to me on a level that I don’t understand. It is a sort of mystery. When I am out in the world and see such a form I am immediately drawn to it. As much as I am concerned with surface texture it is ultimately the simple form of a vessel that appeals to my eye.

I would like to think my work, and the act of making the work, connects me with past cultures who used the same materials to make vessels for ceremony or everyday use.

I like the idea of being a part of the long history of people making things with their hands.”

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

WHITE BASKET Earthenware Clay 29” x 11” x 11” www.tanseycontemporary.com

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KEEP Blue Rutile Earthenware Clay 32” x 15” x 16” FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

KEEP Rutile Earthenware Clay 32” x 14” x 14” www.tanseycontemporary.com

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Kait Rhoads ARTIST STATEMENT

“For the most part, my work is inspired by nature; this is the result of spending six years on a boat in the Caribbean in my youth where I also learned to dive. Fascinated by structure and growth systems found in nature I feel the closest affinity to coral colonies.

Since my move to the Northwest two decades ago, I have found the same fascination for seaweed and kelp; their curious and pliable forms above and below the waves provide endless inspiration. In my effort to understand the local aquatic flora and fauna, I have volunteered at the Seattle Aquarium for the last several years.

My soft sculptures appear to be fluid but are ridged in their construction. Each individual unit is connected to the next only by the copper wire linking them together.

I develop my concepts slowly, as the production of a complicated piece can take from six months to over two years. I look at the individual units, conical hexagonal forms, as architectural elements fitting together to create a fluid or floating object; their orientation determines the curvature of the form.”

SOFT SCULPTURE SERIES

I see the Soft Sculptures as a type of hyper-reality or memory of an interaction with the world around me; an occurrence absorbed in my brain as a multilayered sensory experience that creates an emotional footprint. For the most part my work is inspired by nature; the end product being stylized or cartoon like forms made of sparkling faceted glass. The animal in the sea that I feel the closest affinity to is coral. There are so many different kinds, both ridged and soft; their basic building block a hexagonal tube made of calcium carbonate. Like bees constructing wax cells to fit any negative space, coral colonies exist in endless variation. Since my move to the North West fifteen years ago I have found the same fascination for the seaweed and kelp here, their curious and pliable forms above and below the waves providing endless inspiration.

I think of the individual units; the hollow murrine as architectural elements fitting together creating a fluid or floating object, their orientation determining the curvature of the form. After a decade of working with the hollow murrine I am continuously engaged in refining their methodology of construction and in their production process.

I create the Soft Sculptures in a pace that is slow and meditative, subtracting or adding material as the sculpture takes form, affording time to make the necessary changes. This being a welcome counterpoint to my experience of working for two decades in the hotshop, where speed is a premium.

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

SUNSET (Soft Sculpture Series) Blown glass, Blue, orange and white hollow murrine woven with copper wire, steel wall mount 45” x 13” x 3”

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PIANGE (Soft Sculpture Series) Blown glass, mixed white& light brown hollow murrine woven with copper wire onto a steel frame; metal chain that attaches to it that falls from the piece to the ground with clear glass flowers shapes attached by silver jump rings.

9” x 10” x 2.4” (plus flower string) FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

RED ALDER Patterned “obscure” plate glass, water jet cut, slumped and fire polished, linked to stainless steel support structures with aluminum wire 39” x 23” x 5.75”

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Nancy Newman Rice ARTIST STATEMENT

“In my earlier paintings, the viewer observes but does not enter as the confusion of space is meant for contemplation rather than adventure. My most recent paintings, however, present the viewer with a delineated path towards a portal or a stairway. The ultimate destination of each journey is not specified, it is suggested. Darkness and light may indicate nothingness or a space filled with undefined possibilities The work of the Portuguese artist Maria Helena da Silva, 1908-1992, has always intrigued me. Her invented spatial environments have influenced my work, as my paintings also define space within the context of architecture. The floating architectural elements I employ are intended to produce a spatial collection of specific places identified by remembered architectural artifacts. In these paintings, I envision myself weaving effortlessly through remembered places, producing a tapestry of time, memory and past journeys.”

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Nancy Newman Rice was born in New York City and was educated at Cornell University and at Washington University, where she earned a BFA with honors and an MFA. She has received awards that include a National Endowment for the Arts/MMA Fellowship for painting, Artist’s Residency Award at the Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, France and nominations for a Tiffany Award and an AVA Award in the Visual Arts. Ms. Rice has exhibited her work internationally and has had a number of solo exhibits in both Galleries and museums including the Saint Louis Art Museum, MO; The St. Louis University Museum of Art, MO; The ReginaQuickCenter for the Arts, NY; The Museum Gallery of Southeast Missouri State University, MO; The Walter Wickiser Gallery, NY, Duane Reed Gallery in St. Louis MO, and in Chicago IL; and the Sazama Gallery in Chicago IL. Ms. Rice has also participated in group exhibits in national museums and galleries including, The Woodward Gallery, NY; The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, IA; The Wustum Museum of Art WI; the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, MO; The Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery NY; and the Craighead- Green Gallery, Dallas, TX. Her work is included in public and private collections in the U.S. and abroad. Ms. Rice has also written articles and reviews for national arts magazines, and The St. Louis Post Dispatch, as well as catalog essays for artists’ exhibitions. She recently took early retirement from Maryville University, St. Louis MO, where she taught painting for 34 years and was the director of Studio Art.

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

INFINITY II Oil on canvas 40” x 40”

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ASH WEDNESDAY Oil on canvas 40” x 40”

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

THIRD TURN Oil on paper panel 12” x 12”

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LONG HALLWAY Oil on paper panel 12” x 12”

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

RAISE HIGH THE ROOF BEAM 1 Oil on paper panel 12” x 12”

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Harue Shimomoto ARTIST STATEMENT

“My work is inspired by nature. I appreciate the feelings I get from even the most unspectacular nature, and the small things in everyday life. I find the small beauties of nature are the ones that most change my view.”

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Shimomoto came to United State in 2003 and Studied Glass as a special student at Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH after 2 years she moved to Wisconsin for graduate school and received MFA 2008 from University of Wisconsin. Her background is painting and printmaking. She graduated from Musashino Art University, Tokyo, Japan. Currently she is Director of Large Scale Projects Development at TOOTS ZYNSKY, INC.Shimomoto’s work is represented in collections including: Dayton Art Institute, Ohio, USA, Museum of American Glass, New Jersey, USA.

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

CRAZY MOON Fused, slumped glass, suspended by wire with hooks 48” x 48” x 7

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TO RED Fused, slumped glass, suspended by wire with hooks.

24” x 39” x 7”

DEAR Fused glass, suspended by wire with hooks 46” x 37” x 7” FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

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Susanna Starr ARTIST STATEMENT

“In my work, the handcrafted object is a way to create unexpected transformations out ofthe ordinary or the familiar; shifting process and material as a way to uncover somethingnew. I am particularly interested in the dynamic between material and image. For the past several years, I have been developing a body of work that combines images of vintage crochet doilies with a micro-thin wood veneer. Using a penknife to cut intricate patterns into the veneer, these pieces are essentially monumental paper cuts. The wood veneer imparts a rich substantial surface that is finished with traditional varnish or rubbed with oil. In this body of work, the furniture and the innocuous crocheted doilies that are used to protect and decorate its surfaces have morphed into one large, absurdly delicate object, compressing and distorting both image and material. Humorous, contradictory, and quietly subversive, the doily has gone wild and the wood has been fully domesticated.”

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Susanna Starr lives and works in New York City. She received an MFA from The Yale School of Art, a BFA from The Maryland Institute College of Art, and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She has received numerous awards including two grants from the New York Foundation For The Arts, The Dieu Donne Papermill Workspace Program Grant, The Edward F. Albee Foundation Residency, and most recently, a permanent artwork commission for The New York City MTA Arts For Transit Program.

Her work is included in the permanent collections of The Albright-Knox Gallery of Art, The Birmingham Museum of Art, The Art in Embassies Program of the US Department of State, and the NY MTA Arts For Transit, as well as many private collections. She shows actively in the US and internationally. Starr has been included in exhibitions at the Museum of Arts & Design, NYC, The Neuberger Museum of Art, The Harn Museum of Art, Skedelijk Museum, Schiedam, Netherlands, the Museum fur Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany, and The Museo Centro Gaiás, Santiago de Compostela, Spain - in addition to numerous gallery exhibitions in NYC and across the country. Her work has been reviewed in Art In America, The New York Times, Review Magazine, NY Arts Magazine, and The New Art Examiner.

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

NESTING OVALS Hand-cut mahogany wood veneer 36” x 49”

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CHERRY ROUND Hand-cut cherry wood veneer 55” x 55”

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

OAK ROUND Hand-cut, oak wood veneer 55” x 55”

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FICTITIOUS FIBER Curator’s Essay by Jane Sauer Textile art is both an ancient and a new art form. The use of fibrous materials as a medium for art works appears throughout the history of mankind. Traditionally these objects were utilitarian. The term fiber art was introduced after World War II to describe new developments in textile arts in which aesthetic value was prioritized over utility. The 1960s and 70s brought an international revolution in Fiber Art. Beyond weaving, fiber structures were created through knotting, twining, plaiting, lashing, quilting, and interlacing. Artists in the United States and Europe explored the qualities of fabric to develop works that were two or three dimensional, flat or volumetric, gigantic or miniature, nonobjective or figurative, and representational or purely imaginative. In the 1980’s fiber work became more and more conceptual, influenced by postmodernist ideas. The 1990’s and early 2000’s saw a continued interest in experimentation, exploration of traditional boundaries and investigation of a variety of materials and techniques.

Recently there has appeared another iteration of Fiber Art. This course of investigation has produced a number of artists that explore the techniques and sensibilities of fiber art with materials not historically associated with textiles. The use of linear, pliable elements, although non fibrous, has become part of their repertoire. Additionally a number of artists are attracted to the supple and sensuous nature of fiber. Others are attracted to the weaving of forms which mimic the over and under in various fiber techniques such as loom weaving. This exhibit seeks to illustrate the current wide range of works related to the fiber art movement, but operating outside of the usual boundaries. The artists selected are innovative and daring in their studio practice, exploring unexpected relationships between fiber and other creative disciplines.

Ran Adler uses a wide variety of materials usually rescued from nature to mimic the flowing qualities and repetitive patterns found in textiles. He achieves rhythmic fluid structures by threading, inscribing, and assembling units together. Melanie Ferguson manages to make hardened clay appear to be a billowing drape of cloth. Her surfaces are reminiscent of the ancient art of wax resist and other surface design methods. Jim Kraft literally weaves with clay, creating an arresting semblance to ancient basket forms. He preserves the organic and raw nature of clay while revealing its plasticity. Harue Shimomoto’s glass tapestries are composed of a thicket of carefully arranged hand-pulled glass threads fused into panels that hang from the ceiling. The appearance of softness from this brittle material is astonishing.

FICTITIOUS FIBER Curated by Jane Sauer

Kait Rhoads brings together small units of glass, which she refers to as hollow murrine, through laboriously sewing together wire to create a membrane which may result in a three dimensional form or deliciously supple wall hanging. Susanna Starr hand cuts thin sheets of wood veneer into outlandishly large decorative dollies. Her meticulous cutting redefines how a lacelike structure can be achieved. The visual image achieved is contradictory to all of our expectations from the rigidity of wood.

Nancy Newman Rice paints floating architectural elements that create an ambiguous sense of space. She says of her work: “I envision myself weaving effortlessly through remembered places, producing a tapestry of time, memory, and past journeys. Ann Coddington twines a given form, in this case birds, and then casts the form in clay. The resulting ceramic birds retains the imprint of the weave on the surface. After being glazed in a pewter colored glaze they at once appear to be metal, or is it woven, but maybe clay? Tom Eckert creates a magical illusion by carving, constructing and painting wood. His forms frequently mimic cloth concealing and shrouding various objects such as a floating book or floating cards.

By exhibiting these works together, I intend to explore a new and fresh vein in the way fiber art is visible as an art form. Art is an ever evolving field with a rush of new art forms surfacing in the last 20 years. I believe this innovative language will continue to unfold and proliferate, pushing boundaries still further in the future and offering an expanded definition of Fiber Art.

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