TEXTILE POETICS
Textiles have been a fundamental and integral aspect of human development around the world for millennia. From the onset of their creation, our story has been woven into fabric. Through textile, cultures have expressed their philosophy, communal identity, and sensibility to the flora and fauna that abounds in their environment that nourishes them both physically and emotionally. Textile went from rudimentary to an apogee of fine art. The Industrial Revolution paved the way to mass production and relegated the high art of textile, to a feminine craft. In the 60’s, textile was again elevated to its fine art status by feminist artists like Judy Chicago, Gunta Stolzl, Olga de Amaral, and some artists from the “Arte Povera” movement, such as Alighiero Boetti. Eric Minding, in “Oaxaca Stories in Cloth” states: “Cloth is a language through which people can tell us about themselves, their community, and their place in the universe.” Through printing, weaving, and assemblage, the contemporary artists of TEXTILE POETICS tell us about their restlessness, inquiry, and research into the creation of fabric art.
Luis R. Gutiérrez
On view at the ESB-MACC until August 21st, 2020 by appointment through Eventbrite.
TEXTILE POEMS
Mery Godigna Collet
Mery Godigna Collet defines her Textile Poems as a desperate reflection and a need to make sense of realities.
Not everything is in plain sight. The Textile Poems refer to hidden processes such as how matter of different densities react to each other in search of balance. Through a thermal camera, she captures the way water or air of different temperatures blend into each other. The spontaneous image is a metaphor for the constant flow in the Universe.
For this body of works, Japanese silk has been selected because of its larvae to moth origins, its history dating to the Neolithic and its physical characteristics; luster, strength, durability and lightweight.
Through the selected materials (silk and natural pigments) and the selected technique (thermal imaging and digital printing), the artist recreates the relationship between tradition and modernization.
TELL ME IT HAUNTS YOU TOO
Angelica Raquel Martinez
Angelica Raquel Martinez's textiles are figurative narratives that merge stories, folklore, and lived experiences. Her work relies on knowledge of the past while reinventing folklore to reflect on culture, societal, and human/ animal encounters. Employing biographical and regional folklore she grew up with, living on the border to Mexico, serves as a conduit for moral and spiritual ideas, while also putting emphasis on familial relationships and their continued importance long after death. Her work shows her interest in the magic that was the unknown, the idea of the soul, and the element of the human animal.
I ONLY HAVE DYES FOR YOU
Margita Pencevova
In recent years, Margita has been working with art methods and supplies that are sustainable and she has been researching and experimenting with tinctorial plants of Central Texas in her creative process.
“I made natural colors and mordants from plants, and then applied them in my art when dyeing and mono printing on cloth or paper. This fascinating art method is called eco print. Eco print is a slow and sustainable art experience that produces a visual record of nature’s fleeting magical moment and place. It is a celebration of harmony and balance in creative interaction with Mother Nature. I call it the Tai Chi of Textile Arts.”
Her “I only Have Dyes for You” scarf series, she explores several natural dye and mono printing methods on silk and silk/wool blends. First, she responsibly harvests plant parts of local plants with tinctorial properties on her walks around Austin, or from her garden. Next, she prepares mordants and dyes from them, and also from Cochineal, an insect. Then, she experiments with various dye methods.
THE POETRY OF SILENCE
Annette Turrillo
Annette Turrillo's work focuses on themes related to reflection and introspection, as well as the human condition. Her main focus is poetics and spirituality in art.
The Poetics of Silence is an ode to all women, of all generations, to those who have always been present in our lives in one way or another, inspiring us with their teachings and struggles, despite having sometimes been under great silence and as with their courage and effort, they have laid the foundations for what today is contemporary women.
In this installation, memories and feelings are mixed, within the atmosphere of the symbolic poetry of silence, leading us to reflection and introspection, establishing a dialogue between memory and spirit.
COLONIAL LEGACY
Mery Godigna Collet
In the words of Surpik Angelini: “Early on, heralding the spirit of our anthropocene era, Mery Godigna Collet’s art embodied a profound attentiveness to our undeniable responsibility as humans to repudiate, deflect, remediate destructive political, economic and ecological actions endangering all living – organic and inorganic – matter sustaining life in our planet. As boundless a task as it may seem, Godigna Collet has addressed these issues as she witnessed them in her own life.”
600 River St, Austin, TX 78701
Photos courtesy of: Ulises Garcia
Credits:
Photos by Ulises Garcia