Saturday, April 23, 2022

Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part 1[1]
Art Quilts

Marie-Therese Wisniowski

Preamble
Art Quilts have featured on this blogspot and so for your convenience I have listed below previous posts in this series:
Art Quilts - Part I
Art Quilts - Part II
Art Quilts - Part III
Art Quilts - Part IV
Art Quilts - Part V
Art Quilts - Part VI
Art Quilts - Part VII
Art Quilters of the Netherlands - Part I
Art Quilters of the Netherlands - Part II
Art Quilters of the Netherlands - Part III
Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part I
Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part II
Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part III
Art Quilts of Jane Sassaman
Art Quilts of Michael A. Cummings


Introduction by Peter Thoben (Eindhaven, The Netherlands) [1]
As an art and culture historian I have the chance to participate in many juries spanning visual art and photography, to carnival and historical agents. The assessment of textile work was certainly new for me but definitely not an impossible task. After all, it's at all times about watching 'picture language' and the formal language of artistic and creative expressions, which must take into account the medium - which has its own capabilities and limitations.

In the art (and art crafts), textiles have received a modest appreciation even though for a long time they have been known for their strong craft-technical skills, perhaps with the exception of Flemish woven tapestries from the 16th and 17th Centuries. However, the images of the submitted works make it clear that there is an artistic intention and expression in addition to the craftsmanship required to bring the work to a higher level. We can also see how movements in contemporary art and culture of the applicants country has a visible impact and are reflected in the end result.

Having a broad cross-section of an international jury of five people, each with their own expertise, provides a 'weighted' decision - often after a great deal of discussion. It's an educational process that clearly shows that all applicants have contributed to this touring exhibition, with its aim of continually increasing the quality of the European Art Quilt Exhibition - even though they may not have made the final selection. In one word: "capeau!" I'm curious to see these textile works in the flesh: shape, color, texture, size, details etc., using my own eyes to 'feel.'


Four Selected European Art Quilters - Part 1[1]

Quilter: Dominique Arlot (Lyon, France)[1].


Glod Leaf
Full View
Title: The Gold Leaf (2014).
Materials: Silk, organza, cotton batting, man-made materials. Textile paint, gold threads, silk threads.
Technique: Hand appliqué, painting, hand machine embroidery, golden transfer on organza and man-made material from Chinese paper.
Size: 70 cm (wide) x 130 cm (length).
Comment [1]: Goldleaf, gilded with gold leaf; gold leaf which is not leafed shape but a square... I was dreaming about those words, and the imagination got the upper hand. And things set up in an unreal world...

Gold Leaf (Detailed View I)
Detailed View 1

Gold Leaf (Detailed View 2)
Detailed View 2


Quilter: Janine Ayres (Edenbridge, United Kingdom)[1].

Dark Skies
Full View
Title: Dark Skies (2014).
Materials: Cotton sateen and silk organza hand dyed with Procian dyes, 'Mistifuse' fusible web, cotton and rayon threads, glass beads, cotton wadding.
Technique: The cotton and silk were hand dyed and layered with scraps of 'Mistifuse' to create the impression of gas clouds. Cotton wadding was used to create the 'sandwich' before being machine stitched. The glass beads were applied with hand stitch.
Size: 110 cm (wide) x 110 cm (length).
Comment [1]: Constantly increasing levels of light around our cities and towns is making it impossible to see the beauty of the night sky. We are losing our visual contact with elements that have shaped our cultures and driven many of our technologies throughout history. Children grow up never having seen the stars and clouds of the Milky Way, or the planets around us.

Dark Skies (Detailed View 1)
Detailed View 1

Dark Skies (Detailed View 2)
Detailed View 2


Quilter: Gonny de Bekker-Jespers (Nunspeet, the Netherlands)[1].

New Day
Full View
Title: New Day (2013).
Materials: Cotton, synthetic fabric.
Technique: Batik, hand dyed, hand quilted.
Comment [1]: Any second of the day the sea reshapes his characteristics and looks different. Every day, again and again. The sea gives me peace and is always fascinating.

New Day (Detailed View 1)
Detailed View 1

New Day (Detailed View 2)
Detailed View 2


Quilter: Eszter Bornemisza (Budapest, Hungary)[1].

Forbidden City
Full View
Title: Forbidden City (2013).
Materials: Cotton, mulberry paper, felt.
Technique: Dyed, mono-printed, screen printed, hand written, machine sewn.
Comment [1]: As an urban citizen my main sources of inspiration are the cultural layers found in the Earth under the soles of our feet and embedded in our minds.

My starting points are ideas that reflect our relationship to traces and settlements of past and present cultures: the layers of existence. As the urban structure develops, widens, thickens, clots and creates subsystems in history, the cities that live within us undergo an endless and continuous evolution.

Forbidden City (Detailed View 1)
Detailed View 1

Forbidden City (Detailed View 2
Detailed View 2


Reference:
[1] European Art Quilt Foundation, Molenschat, Netherlands (2014).

No comments: