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January 16, 2022 In Art, Textile Art

Heallreaf 4 Tapestry Competition

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Sartori by Ellen Ramsey – Winner of the Heallreaf 3 prize.

Urban Rhythm by Anne-Elise Angas – Winner of the Heallreaf 3 Curators Prize.

 

There aren’t many tapestry exhibitions and competitions, so the Heallreaf biennial is definitely worth taking notice of.

Heallreaf is an Old English word meaning a ‘tapestry hung in a public place,’ and the competition is open to tapestry

artists around the world,

 

Now its fourth exhibition, Heallreaf 4 is organised by Margaret Jones and the touring exhibition will be displayed at three locations around the UK.

Farfields Mill, Sedbergh. 19th May – 6th July 2022.

Oxmarket, Chichester. 13th – 24th September 2022.

RBSA, Birmingham. 1st – 12th November 2022.

 

To apply tapestries must have been completed after May 2019 and the maximum size for wall hanging tapestries is 2 x 2m.

The deadline for submissions is 5pm (UK time) on February 1st.

For more information including the sizes for 3-d tapestries visit https://www.heallreaf.com

 

December 20, 2021 In Art, Books, Textile Art

Book review of Vitamin T: Threads & Textiles in Contemporary Art

   

 

   

 

Abdoulaye Konaté, Brésil (Guarani). 2015, textile, 345 x 700 cm, 135 7/8 x275 5/8 in. Picture credit: Private collection, Tokyo. Courtesy and © the artistand Blain|Southern. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates, 2016 (pages 156-157).

Kyungah Ham, Needling Whisper, Needle Country/SMS Series inCamouflage, Are you lonely, too? C 01-01-04, 2014-5, North Korean handembroidery, silk threads on cotton, middleman, anxiety, censorship andwooden frame, approximately 1,000 hours by 1 person, 146 x 146 cm / 571/2 x 57 1/2 in. Picture credit: artwork © Kyungah Ham / Courtesy of theartist, carlier | gebauer and Kukje Gallery, Seoul. (page 125).

 

Vitamin T: Threads & Textiles in Contemporary Art 

I was living in Malaysia when Vitamin T: Threads & Textiles in Contemporary Art was released in hardback and it had sold out when I went to purchase it. So I was thrilled when the paperback version came out in September. Featuring over 100 artists who use textiles as a medium it has to be the most current and encompassing review of textile art today. 

The substantial book weighing in at over 300 pages, covers a huge range of techniques.  Knitting, embroidery, knotting, tapestry and quilting are well represented. As we always champion on Textile Curator, the sheer variety of subject matter, scale and pure creativity is beyond inspiring. 

While some of the aritsts are household names such as Tracy Emin and Grayson Perry, the global reach of the book means there are artists even the most passionate textile art fans are yet to discover. I did start listing my hightlights, but the list was soon far too long for this article. Ghada Amer, El Anatsui, Terri Friedman – and of course Chiacho & Giannone, who were one of the first artists I interviewed for Textile Curator, are just a handful of the outstanding artists featured. 

Images are large and well presented so you can really examine the tecniques. My only criticism is that the text is rather daunting and hard to read. Blocks of text may look visually appealing, but personally I like paragraphs. Also I find artists’ details such as their ages, and location a fascinating insight into their art. This is all there but is in rather small text. However, the overriding factor is this is an absolute celebration of the talented artists who use textiles as a medium. 

Vitamin T: Threads & Textiles in Contemporary Art illustrates that fine art textiles is gaining increasing space in galleries around the world. It’s something anyone with an appreciaton of the skill, talent and beauty of textile art can appreciate and a must-have publication for anyone interested in the fascinating world of textile art today. 

Vitamin T: Threads & Textiles in Contemporary Art by Phaidon editors, with an introduction by Jenelle Porter, £29.95 https://www.phaidon.com

November 15, 2021 In Art, Textile Art

Faig Ahmed’s latest work

   

Image top left: Nizami Ganjavi, Shams Tabrizi and Yahya al-Shirvani al-Bakuvi. Images courtesy of Faig Ahmed Studio

 

 

Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed was one of the first artists I interviewed on Textile Curator (read his interview here) and his work goes from strength to strength. His latest exhibition entitled PIR: Divine Fires and Mystic Gods contains three large carpets (and a video piece) named after poets and spiritual masters who have had cultural significance in Faig’s homeland, Nizami Ganjavi, Shams Tabrizi and Yahya al-Shirvani al-Bakuvi.

 

   

 

Faig’s works are ‘conceived with complex layers of historical, literary, mystical, and craft associations,’ and they are on show at New York’s Spar Contemporary Gallery, 9 N Moore, New York until Jan 6th 2022 http://www.saparcontemporary.com.  

 

November 7, 2021 In Art, Textile Art

Cordis Prize

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Image clockwise from top left:  Angela Maddock Cloth Body Katja Beckman Little Black Dog Rachel Johnston Blackthorn Zhanna Petrenko Shroud of Insecurity Anne Bjørn Combines II Louise Martin Lifetime Anna Olson To Me You Are Valuable Anne Stabell Under the Surface Patrick Stratton Things I do Sometimes – Putting Toothpaste on a Toothbrush

 

For tapestry lovers it can be hard to find decent exhibitions which makes the Cordis Prize all the more special. ‘Rewarding ambition in contemporary weaving,’ it’s a biannual even open to weavers around the world. There are 20 tapestries on display by 19 artists – two of whom I’ve interviewed previously; Swedish artist Anna Olson (read her interview here) and Norwegian artist Anne Stabell (read her interview here). Congratulations to Louise Martin who took the top prize this year for weaving Lifetime. If you live near Edinburgh or are looking for a reason to visit this gorgeous city, this is definitely a reason to go.

 

The Cordis Prize exhibition is open daily from 10.30 am until the 12th of December at Inverleith House Gallery, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. For more information visit thetapestryprize.org/project/2021-cordis-prize/