Last week I visited an amazing exhibition at The 2021 Visual Arts Centre, it was truly inspiring to see first hand the textile art by members of the 62 Group in partnership with Liz Cooper.
I found this to be so interesting because I am literally split in half when it comes to the issue of 'am I a fine artist or a textile artist'?
I found this to be so interesting because I am literally split in half when it comes to the issue of 'am I a fine artist or a textile artist'?
From Grimsby To Greenpoint & Beyond.
Linen and recycled fabric, cotton thread, acrylic paint.
Sue Stone's work is so detailed and intricate, I can't even imagine the time it must take to hand stitch her artwork.
I love Sue's ability to communicate her highly personal sense of narrative.
Imprint.
Linen, porcelain, cotton thread.
This piece by Caroline Bartlett has such presence and power.
Look how beautifully the entrance has been curated...
City Skins.
Newspaper, synthetic organza, silk floss, plexiglass tubes.
Eszter Bornemisza's exhibit is simply stunning and the surface is so interesting.
This makes me want to get into my studio and play!
Control.
Earthernware clay, rope.
Imogen Aust's work really pushes the boundaries of what we might expect of textile art.
I think that textiles comes with so much historical baggage attached to it, yet it is one of the most versatile specialisms.
Portrait of A Shoe Maker.
Silk organza on linen.
I am such a fan of Emily Jo Gibbs.
Just beautiful...
The Sampling Project.
Various fibres.
There are just so many of my textile heroes in the exhibition, Hannah Lamb's work just took my breath away...
Flux.
Dye, pigment, resist, flock on linen cotton.
Dawn Dupree's work calls to the painter half of me!
Love the mark-making so much!
Room For Improvement.
Doll's house beds, cotton, silk threads.
Garfen's work really made you stand and pause, firstly because of the sheer number of beds and the tiny words stitched onto the sheets, and secondly because of the powerful way she communicates her message about the issue of eating disorders and the desperate need for more NHS beds for the treatment of such a widespread problem.
Excess.
Hair, thread, foundation powder mesh.
In this series of work Lucy Brown explores the subject of female facial/ body hair.
I love how such unexpected materials have been used to create this series of work which really challenges our possible views on what 'textiles' is.
Triple Reaction: Assemblages.
Recycled mixed media scraps, threads, wire.
Ann Goddard's work, alongside Shuna Rendel's, really seemed to celebrate the use of recycled and possibly 'overlooked' materials.
Seeing beauty in the discarded and abandoned, and exploring how materials work together, is just so inspiring (I apologise for the over-use of that word in this blog post but I cant help it!)
Shuna Rendel.
Triple Reaction: Brushstrokes.
Seed pods, grape stems, chair cane, waxed linen, wire.
Sian Martin.
Rolling Out A Carpet For Hope.
Dyed cane, wire, silk scrim, acrylic sheets.
The exhibition continues onto Scunthorpe Central library where there is a really interesting mix of work, including Sian Martin, with its strong links to the environment, and with work such as 'Fly Stitch Autumn Landscape' by Isobel Currie, also linked strongly to the natural landscape, but treated in a very different way.
And then I got to meet Clive...
Clive is part of the 'Squishys' series by Daisy Collingridge, and he is truly spectacular.
'Clive' is a wearable piece of art and it was fascinating to see how he had been constructed.
I haven't been able to include all of the artists' work and I could happily blog on for hours about this exhibition.
I cannot recommend this highly enough and there is a beautiful and insightful catalogue to accompany the exhibition.
Cntrl/Shift
The 62 Group Of Textile Artists
2021 Visual Arts Centre
Scunthorpe
14/12/19 - 29/2/20
