Works in fiber by Nike Cutsumpas, Catherine Lucia, Aly Maderson Quinlog, Rachel Sclare, Violet Harlow, and Lys Guillorn
“Material Culture” is exhibition of contemporary fine art textiles by Connecticut artists Nike Cutsumpas, Catherine Lucia, Aly Maderson Quinlog, Rachel Sclare, Violet Harlow, and Lys Guillorn.
The artists’ techniques include SAORI / freeform weaving, cyanotype on fabric, assemblage, pictorial and abstract quilting, as well as re-use and re-imagining of vintage textiles.
Types of textile work are often used as metaphors for connections between people, the threads of ancestry are stitched, the repetitive motions of making become spellcasting, and the weaving begets storytelling.
In contemporary textile work, what was once relegated to the world of “craft” is now viewed through the lens of fine art. Remnant yarn is woven into abstracts centering texture and color. Vintage textiles are re-imagined and brought into the future by using cyanotype, which itself is an antique process. Cherished linens passed down generations become a ground for drawing with thread. Waste fabrics are used like paint and novel compositions emerge.