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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/

September 28, 2021 In Art, Textile Art

SAQA Benefit Auction

Own a piece of original textile art! The non for profit organisation Studio Art Quilt Associates has over 400 quilts to bid for including Celebration by Danish artist Jette Clover whom I’ve interviewed on this site, read it here. To bid for pieces visit www.saqa.com/auction

July 24, 2021 In Textile Art

Be Part of an Amazing Textile Installation

     

Alicja’s textile interpretation and photograph of her own drawer.

 

Be part of an amazing textile art installation!

We all have those drawers that contain those useful things that even if you don’t use them often, you can’t bear to part with. Polish artist Alicja Kozlowska wants to recreate these in textiles to see “a global view of the diversity and individuality of people around [her].”

“Each of us lives differently, looks different, but there are things that connect everyone around the world. Undoubtedly, there are many common parts, universal for all the people. I was looking for everyday items, and in a sense, intimate items. I wanted to present the characteristics of ordinary inhabitants of our planet but in an unusual way. Show how different we are and how similar we are at the same time. 

My project is a study of different drawers, interpreting different personalities and showing different parts of the world. My drawers will be made using many techniques, included in the term of the broadly understood “artistic fabric”, which will undoubtedly give them originality and emphasize the uniqueness of this field of art.”

To find out how to take part in project i.d visit www.alicesidea.com

July 21, 2021 In Textile Art

Inspiring graduates from Lucerne University

 

 

These wonderful images are from some of the 2021 graduates from the 3 year BA Textile Design course at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

These talented textile artists have such thoughtful concepts behind there work I’ll let you check out their Instagram posts to find out more. From left:

Andrea Cavegn https://www.instagram.com/andrea.cavegn/

Hannah Egger https://www.instagram.com/hannaegger_/

Nina Orgui https://www.instagram.com/ninaorgiu/

Anais Meyer https://www.instagram.com/hannaegger_/

 

 

 

 

July 1, 2021 In Art, Textile Art

Yi Hsuan Sung

Early Blooms (2019)                                                                     Sunset Mat (2020)

Agar, Mica Powder                                                                       Agar, Mica Powder

 

                 

Sequin Snaps (2020)                                                                               Linking Food Waste (2019)

Agar, Mica Powder                                                                                   Agar, Food Waste

 

Bio, digital, recycling and textile techniques combine in the fascinating art of Yi Hsuan Sung. Describing herself as a textile florist Yi Hsuan is from Taiwan but is now based in New York. The material she created comprises of agar, food waste and 3D printed moulds which she weaves and braids together to form beautiful bio-degradable flowers and pieces in organic colours and textures. For more information check out her website at https://yihsuansung.com

June 24, 2021 In Art, Textile Art

RCA Graduates

 

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Congratulations to the graduates of the two year M.A in Textiles at The Royal College of Art in London. Here are some of the talented students (in order of their image clockwise from top left). Do check out their IG accounts or websites to see more of their exciting work. 

 

Amy Tidmarsh 

Red to Pink Net is part of Amy’s Active Textiles series which ‘looks at the way ‘we look at a moving body and it’s relationship to space.’

www.amytidmarsh.com

https://www.instagram.com/tidmarsh.studio/

 

Natsuki Hanyu

I’m Textile Monster ‘tells a story through a spiritual atmopshere without relying on words or letters. I breathe stories into materials.’ 

https://www.instagram.com/natsukihanyu/

 

Livia Papiernik

“I wish I was a flower is inspired by my desire to escape the feeling of constraint caused by the pandemic. It blurs the line between my real-life domestic setting and my imaginary world in which there are no limitations.” (Painted and embroidered on raw canvas. 181 x 151 cm )

liviapapiernik.com

 https://www.instagram.com/liviaembroidery/

 

Chloé Rochefort 

This is Problematic Event, bathtub overflowing mixed media sculpture. 

https://www.chloerochefort.com

https://www.instagram.com/rochefort_chloe/

 

Woojin Joo

虎死留皮，人死留名。(When a tiger dies, it leaves behind its skin. When a man dies, he leaves behind his name). Embroidery on dissolvable fabric, IKEA bag.

www.woojinstudio.com

https://www.instagram.com/woojinstudio/

 

 

June 1, 2021 In Textile Art

5 Reasons to Join SAQA

It can be a bit of a struggle being a textile artist at times, so I researched associations that can help, either with guidance, support or just inspiration. SAQA – Studio Art Quilt Associates is based in USA but is open to all quilters and enthusiasts worldwide. I’m in no way affiliated with SAQA but thought their 5 reasons to join may be of interest. I hope you find them helpful!

  1. SAQA connects you with thousands of art quilters and enthusiasts around the world. Join a dynamic community of artists and art-lovers who are changing the face of the fine art.
  2. Your art can travel the world! SAQA members are eligible to enter museum-quality exhibitions that travel all over the world and are viewed by over 250,000 people each year!
  3. Need guidance in navigating the next steps for your artwork or career? We’ve built a knowledge network for artists at all levels to help get you the information you need. 
  4. SAQA members receive a quarterly full-color SAQA Journal as well as weekly email newsletters filled with opportunities, community connections, and tons of great art.
  5. Just love art quilts and want to see and hear more about them? We are your source for tons of beautiful artwork that will delight and inspire you!