Color, form, texture, concepts and meaning can be achieved through a variety mediums.
Textile artists, through their chosen materials, have long held the strings to one of the most powerful and lasting vehicles for sharing visual research.
“The Ardent Thread,” the current exhibit on view through Sept. 5 at The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve Gallery in Cleveland features the work of several experienced textile artists whose work ranges in color, form and texture but has the commonality of an artist who is adroit with their materials.
Individually, the artists chosen for inclusion are exemplary. However, the “flow” of the show is a little choppy as some of the artists’ pieces fit together better than others.
It’s understandable that this might happen, because the show feels as if there has been an express desire by the curator to include many of the stronger textile artists in the area. However, northeast Ohio is home to several people who fit this description and including a little less work would have led to a stronger exhibit given the size of the gallery space.
With that said, each one of these artists is worthy of an individual show in any gallery; having the chance to see some of their work presented in the same space is a great opportunity.
“Color inspires me, especially the tribal colors of African cultures and their connection with Mother Earth,” said Myrya Johnson, a local and national award winning artist for her quilts and wearable art garments, whose work is included in the exhibit.
This fact comes through in a large quilt piece and a series of dolls created by Johnson. The dolls are joyous expressions of color and patterns, as well as objects that hold their own narrative. Like many dolls, they offer a familiar connection that the majority of us can relate to. Sculpturally, the pieces hold their own as physical manifestations of the individual or a “broader idea” of the individual being represented.
A series of embroidery works by Phyllis Brody are exceptional in their composition.
Inspired by colorful embroidery used for clothing and home decoration she encountered during a trip to Uzbekistan years ago, these intensely made, vibrant and expressive works have the gestural quality of abstract painting while also relating a rhythm and texture that is akin to a visual expression of music. Indeed, these works vibrate at such a frequency you can almost hear them speak and sing to you as you look at them.
“Delivery,” a large weaving by artist Jessica Pinsky, is strikingly powerful. Ranging in colors from off-white, and pink to blood red, the weaving is a terrific example of the painterly and sculpture power a weaving can have.
Inspired by the endangerment and extinction of plant species brought about by catastrophic climate change, Rebecca Cross’ work suggests a future where plant species from our era only exist in a “preserved” state.
The mixed media pieces feature silk forms partly pulled through etched plexiglass that features drawings derived from the shadows created by the sculptural forms.
“Everything I make involves the exploration of memory,” Cross said.
That important aspect of the making process helps to give the work its engaging texture and form.
They are haunting works that give you pause and force you to wonder what you are looking at. They also cast wonderful shadows down the gallery walls and that is part of what helps to make them so unique and exciting to look at.
Ron Shelton’s work is full of color, movement and light. The artist has made hats and coats from primarily plastic. The work was inspired by artists from around the world who are using this unsustainable material in their work.
These are fun, joyful and movement-filled sculptural expressions that have an environmentalist undertone. They also command your attention as the coats are on a mannequin and the “hats” are suspended from the ceiling. The large and gestural forms rise from the floor to the ceiling of the gallery space.
Textiles are some the oldest materials we use. Innovative expressions of these types of materials in art help to push the limited boundaries of what we often think of when we think of what we might find on display in a gallery or museum space.
“The Ardent Thread” is an excellent way to explore the research of some of the textile artists from around the region that use traditional and non-traditional techniques in their studio practice.
Details
What: “The Ardent Thread”
Where: The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve Gallery, 1834 E. 123rd St., Cleveland
When: Though Sept. 5
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays
Information: www.ArtistsArchives.org, 216-721-9020, info@ArtistsArchives.org
