EXHIBITION EXPLORES TEXTILE ELEMENTS IN CONTEMPORARY ART

TEXTILITY
Curators: Mary Birmingham and Joanne Mattera

WHEN: January 13- April 1, 2012; Opening Reception: January 13, 6 PM-8 PM
WHERE: Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, 68 Elm Street, Summit NJ 07901
908.273.9121
Gallery Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: 10:00 AM- 5:00 PM; Thursday 10:00 AM – 8 PM; and Saturday & Sunday 11 AM – 4PM.
ADMISSION: Suggested Admission: Adults $5; Seniors/Kids $3; Art Center Members free
(Above: Barbara Ellmann, WHEREWITHAL, 2011, encaustic on 12 wooden panels, 102 x 76 inches (overall). Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Peter Chin.)

Textility is an exhibition that explores the inventive ways contemporary artists employ materials, concepts, and processes associated with textiles to convey their ideas. Many artists today are producing paintings and sculptures that resemble or reference textiles, using traditional materials like paint, canvas, wood, paper and glass. Other artists are appropriating materials and techniques traditionally associated with fiber or textile arts—cloth or thread, crochet or embroidery, for instance—and using them to convey elements like color and line. And some artists are creating work that suggests fabric or textiles to incorporate a sense of the woven, knotted or stitched. Textility, a group survey of 28 artists, will examine art that draws from and is immersed in this textile sensibility.

Textility is co-curated by Mary Birmingham, Art Center Curator, and Joanne Mattera, a New York-based artist, curator, and art blogger. “Textility” is a word the curators created to express the idea of art that has some material or conceptual quality related to textiles. Observing what they consider a trend in contemporary art, they conceived this exhibition to pose the questions: “Who is making work with fiber and textiles or work that suggests fiber and textiles?” and “How and why are artists doing this, and why now?” (Right: Derick Melander, The Painful Spectacle of Finding Oneself, 2010, second-hand clothing, wood and steel, 72 x 12 x 12 inches (each). Courtesy of the artist.)

The exhibition will utilize all three Art Center galleries and will incorporate a broad range of materials and media including painting, sculpture, works on paper, and installation. A fully illustrated catalogue with essays by Birmingham and Mattera will accompany the exhibition. Participating artists: Joell Baxter, Caroline Burton, Sharon Butler, Mary Carlson, Jennifer Cecere, Pip Culbert, Elisa D’Arrigo, Grace DeGennaro, Barbara Ellmann, Carly Glovinski, Elana Herzog, Marietta Hoferer, Nava Lubelski, Stephen Maine, Lael Marshall, Derick Melander, Sam Messenger, Sam Moyer, Lalani Nan, Aric Obrosey, Gelah Penn, Debra Ramsay, Susan Still Scott, Arlene Shechet, Susanna Starr, Leslie Wayne, Ken Weathersby and Peter Weber. (Above left: Grace DeGennaro, Weaving, 2007, oil on linen, 26 x 16 inches. Courtesy of Aucocisco Gallery, Portland, ME. Photo by Luc Demers.)

Related Program:

Gallery “Walk & Talk”
WHEN: March 25, 2:00 PM-4:00 PM
All are invited for a unique opportunity to discuss the Textility exhibition and artwork with the curators and artists.

About the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
Founded in 1933, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey is the state’s largest organization dedicated exclusively to viewing, making and learning about contemporary art. Comprising a renowned studio school and a thriving exhibition, education and programming schedule, the Art Center welcomes over 60,000 visitors each year.