materialities: contemporary textile arts

surface design association

essay: material inquiries

In 2015, I juried the Surface Design Association’s member’s exhibition. Over 2,300 images were reviewed from 506 submissions, out of which 91 artists are included in this publication, and 69 in the exhibition hosted at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts.

MATERIALITIES: CONTEMPORARY TEXTILE ARTS

April 14, 2016

Materialities: Contemporary Textile Arts, the Surface Design Association’s 1st International Juried Members’ Exhibition. The exhibit will be on view August 29 – October 31, 2015. The exhibit showcases the work of 67 artists, their work spanning a wide range of textile media, subject matter and presentations. Selected artists are from the US, Canada, Hungary, Iceland, France, Germany, Norway and the UK. The reception will take place Thursday, October 8th from 5-8pm, coinciding with Made/Aware: Socially Engaged Practices, SDA Craft + Concept Intensive 2015, October 8 -11, to be held at Arrowmont.

Materialities: Contemporary Textile Arts’ juror is Namita Gupta Wiggers, curator-at-large and Director of Critical Craft Forum. For a comprehensive print catalog, Wiggers selected 108 works from 91 artists that provide meaningful answers to the question: What do textiles/fibers and their associated processes offer artists that cannot be achieved in other media?  Of these, 69 artists were invited to exhibit selected works at Arrowmont.

Included in the catalog are essays addressing context and evolution of contemporary textile arts written by curator Namita Gupta Wiggers, Arrowmont Director/artist Nick DeFord, SDA Journal Editor Marci Rae McDade and artist /indigo dye master Rowland Ricketts. The catalog is currently available for preorder on the SDA website.

Surface Design Association (SDA) is a non-profit textile arts organization founded in 1977. SDA promotes international awareness and appreciation of fiber, textiles & new materials. Members include artists, designers, educators, students, curators, gallery owners and textile enthusiasts from around the world. New members are invited to join at www.surfacedesign.org

Featured piece: Ground Cover, by Ann Morton. Yarn, fabric, 600 volunteers, vacant lot, homeless recipients, 2013. Photo credit: Todd Photographic

Exhibiting Artists:

Kristina Aas, Fafnir Adamites, BJ Adams, Mary Babcock, Sara Bakken, Arlee Barr, Polly Barton, Eszter Bornemisza, Erin Castellan, Susan Cavanaugh, Anna Chupa, Caroline Dahl, Jennifer Davies, Ria van Dijk, Frances Dorsey, Sara Drower, Heidi Field-Alvarez, Molly Fox, Jennie Frederick, Anna Gunnarsdottir, Barbara Houshmand, Joyce Watkins King, Molly Koehn, Bukola Koiki, Dagmar Kovar, Joyce Leatherwood, Janice Lessman-Moss, Sheri Levin McNerthy, Connie Lippert, Viviana Lombrozo, Gwen Lowery, Susan Magnusen, Barbara Martinson, Penny Mateer, Dorothy McGuinness, Jeanette DeNicolis Meyer, Ruth Miller, Ann Morton, Chris Motley, Alison Muir, Barbara Murak, Elin Noble, Frauke Palmer, Marianne Penberthy, Anna Perry, Tyler Peterson, Judith Plotner, Howard Ptaszek, Amy Putansu, Allison Roberts, Ann Roth, Katlin Shae Rothacher, Maggie Scott, Patti Shaw, Maria Shell, Breanne Sherwood, Julie Sirek, Debra Smith, Shelley Socolofsky, Denise Sokolsky, Brooks Harris Stevens, Ruth Tabancay, Amanda Thatch, Marcia Weiss, Rena Wood, Saaraliisa Ylitalo, Lori Zimmerman.