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1.25.2012

Visiting "Textility" (Part Two)

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. . . continuing the tour from Part One

We’re starting here where we left off in Part One: at the stairs heading up to Studio X, the third gallery in the Textility exhibition at the Visual Art Center of New Jersey in Summit. On the way up we’ll take a look at Debra Ramsay’s installation. And when we come back down, we’ll pass through a hallway that shows additional work by two of the Studio X artists, Grace DeGennaro and Stephen Maine, as well as that of Elana Herzog. (I'm mixing up the internal architecture of the institution a bit to be able to give you a flowing narrative.) 

In the stairwell, looking up from the ground floor: Debra Ramsay's site-specific installation, Two, Twice With Green and Yellow, 2011, thread, fabric, paint and pins
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Above: View from the second floor
Below: left corner detail
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On the wall outside Studio X: Ramsay's Squarely Divided, Times Two, 2001; thread, Tyvek, glassine, bubble wrap, acrylic paint, pins, dimensions variable; image from the VACNJ Facebook page


Peeking into Studio X: Stephen Maine on far wall

Touring the gallery clockwise: Maine, Elisa D'Arrigo; foreground, Joell Baxter

D'Arrigo, Pip Culbert, Baxter

Culbert, Grace DeGennaro, Baxter


Panoramic view as we circle past the entrance and continue around the gallery: DeGennaro, Ken Weathersby

Weathersby, Baxter

Joell Baxter, Endless Day (For G.M.B), 2011, screenprinted paper and glue; 46 x 46 x 5 inches
Detail below


Stephen Maine, Mesh painting #11-011, 2011; acrylic, paper, plastic mesh, thermal installation, T-pins, 36 x 36 x 6 inches
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Above: shadow detail
Below: closeup

Elisa D'Arrigo, Byzantine Homage 1, 2005, cloth, acrylic paint, thread; 35 x 35 x 3 inches
Detail below

Pip Culbert, Patchwork, Blue and Pale Blue, 2011, cotton and pins, 41 x 27 inches
Detail below


Grace DeGennaro, Weaving, 2007, oil on linen, 26 x 16 inches

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Ken Weathersby, 179 (twn), 2010; acrylic paint film with removed areas over wood scaffold over linen; two panels, each 24 x 19 inches
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Details above and below


From Studio X we go back downstairs, passing through the art-hung hallway on our way out. The decision to install work here came late in the process, but I'm glad it came about as it gave us an opportunity to show work on paper by three exhibiting artists.

Looking down the hallway, work by Grace DeGennaro, right, Stephen Maine, left, and Elana Herzog in distance on right

Above and below: Grace DeGennaro, two watercolor on paper paintings from the Trinity series, each 30 x 22 inches
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Elana Herzog. four from the Untitled series of work iin handmade cotton paper and textile
Closer view below
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Stephen Maine, monoprints from the Pitched Planes series
Closer view below
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Textility is up through April 1, with a Walk-and-Talk conversation with the curators and artists on Sunday, March 25, 4:00-6:00 p.m. I plan to post sporadically about the exhibition between now and then.

Also visit
.  The Textility blog of the Visual Art Center of New Jersey, which has posted installation images as well as pics from the reception
. Sharon Butler's Facebook album from the opening
. My blog post with screen grabs from New Jersey transit showing directions from Penn Station
. HomeTowne TV, a regional arts program, which features several artists and myself talking about the exhibition



6 comments:

Hylla Evans said...

It's an incredible show and your input makes it more so. Can you imagine if every great show had coverage like this?

Nancy Natale said...

Thanks for posting all these great images from the show. The work was so impressive! I loved it all. Kudos to you and to Mary Birmingham for making such wonderful choices!

Anonymous said...

Wow Top Notch ! Thank you Joanne

Gary J. Noland Jr. said...

Great show and a nice selection of artists. The pieces by Joell Baxter and Stephen Maine remind me of the work of one of my mentors, Arturo Alonzo Sandoval. He would have been a great addition to the show. Thanks for the images.

annell4 said...

Wonderful post! Thank you so much!

Joanne Mattera said...

Thanks, everyone, for your kind words.
Gary, there were so many artists whose work would have been wonderful for the show. We focused on the work of self-described painters and sculptors (as opposed to self described fiber artists) as we were looking to see how contemporary painters and sculptors reference fiber and fabric in a conceptual or material way. With fiber artists, that connection is a given.