Laura Thomas Woven Textiles: nuno

Thursday, January 6, 2011

warp+weft exhibition on tour to Craft in the Bay, Cardiff

Maelstrom by Lucy McMullen. Hand woven quadruple cloth in Shetland wool and wire

The warp+weft exhibition that I curated for Oriel Myrddin is now officially on tour! I have just spent the day installing the show at Craft in the Bay, Cardiff, before it opens tomorrow evening at 6pm (please do come along if you are in the area!)

The gallery space at Craft in the Bay is completely different from Oriel Myrddin and so there is a very different visual dynamic. Its been great to rearrange the show accordingly to make new links between work, and to hang some pieces differently too. Also, as its a bigger space, I have been able to make some additions to the show which I didn't have space for at Oriel Myrddin. Of particular note in the above work by Lucy McMullen. This was created to mark the launch of ASF Shetland, and is a truly extraordinary piece of work from both an aesthetic and technical perspective. Three panels of hand woven quadruple cloth unfold to create an extraordinary whirlpool structure.

Kase by Nuno

Another addition is 'Kase' by Nuno. This beautifully translucent woven cloth, has been devore printed post production - a paste is applied which selectively 'burns out' certain fibres leaving the overlapping circles pattern.
We also have two new pleated neckpieces by Ann Richards, and a second framed work by Ann Sutton so if you saw the show at Oriel Myrddin its very worthwhile to see the show in its new format at Craft in the Bay.

As mentioned, the show opens tomorrow evening at 6pm, and then continues to the 20th February. I'll be giving a free gallery talk on the 22nd January at 2pm. There are also two weave workshops running to coincide with the exhibition - Silk Inlay Weaving with Sue Hiley Harris on 29-30th Jan and Woven Passementerie with Jessica Light on the 5-6th Feb. Both workshops only have a couple of spaces left, so please book soon if you want to attend.

Monday, September 20, 2010

warp+weft, Oriel Myrddin Gallery, Carmarthen

It's been nearly 2 years since I first started talking to Meg Anthony, the curator at Oriel Myrddin Gallery about warp+weft, an exhibition celebrating contemporary woven textiles. Two years ago, September 2010, seemed like light years away...... well it soon came around!

The last couple of months have been an absolute hive of activity - I now have a much better appreciation of the background work that goes into curating an exhibition! The catalogue itself was a huge amount of work, and I don't think I have ever laboured so much over my words. The photography sessions with Toril Brancher were fantastic and even though it was agonising making some of the graphic design decisions such as what to put on the cover, I hugely enjoyed working with Heidi Baker, our wonderful catalogue designer. With Meg, I think we made a formidable team.

You may have read on my earlier posts that the connecting thread for the exhibition was that all the selected weave artists and designers take a decidedly unexpected approach to weaving. Ainsley Hillard incorporates a transfer print process to integrate ghostly images; Ismini Samanidou is collaborating with Gary Allson to make CNC drawings and milled wood surfaces deriving from her hand woven samples; and Priti Vega works with fibre optics, magnets, light reflective yarns, amongst other intriguing materials to create her striking works. The show also includes some icons from the world of weaving - Ann Sutton, Peter Collingwood and Reiko Sudo (NUNO) - inspirations for all interested in the construction of ingenious textiles.

Below are a few images from the exhibition. There will be more to follow. Please do try and visit the show which is on until the end of October. Please also buy the very lovely catalogue..... a bargain at £12.50!