Exhibitions Maidstone and Farfield
Installation: Garden Paths, Maidstone Library Gallery
Field at Sedburgh
September starts with exhibitions, resuming work and the launch of my book. My work is on show at in Natural Histories at Maidstone Library Gallery from 10th September - 15th October with Anne as part of Resonant Textiles. Feel free to come and meet with us on Saturday 25th, 2.00-4.00
In addition, I am also exhibiting at Farfield Mill and Heritage Centre, Sedburgh from Saturday 11th September-Sunday 14th November 2010
Check my links for opening and further information.
Oh, and the book is published by the way.
Review by artist Janet Sturge:
I enter a cool refreshing space, where alternating framed and free-hanging textiles harmoniously articulate the long white walls. This collaborative exhibition includes three major installations where the two artists have made an equal contribution, whether in square panels, long and shorter pieces, or a delightful ‘forest’, ‘Seed Bird Map’ of opened zig-zag booklets hung from the ceiling which may be walked through so as to read the maps and some of the texts of the ‘Natural Histories’.
Nature is everywhere apparent in both artists’ work: finely machine-stitched drawings of birds, insects and elegant tall-stemmed plants, wild and cultivated, as well as pages from plant and bird books embedded in stitchery. The long panels of their ‘Garden Path’ series also combine in a painterly way, in their verticality and colour - soft lilacs and greens echo each other from one long panel to the next. This orderliness, gentleness of colour and delicacy of drawing runs through the whole show.
Within the overall unity, I begin to distinguish the different characteristics of the two artists. Anne’s individual pieces are mostly framed, and even within the space are often bordered and centred, firmly holding together the disparate elements of collage such as straw hats, as do also her webs of machine stitching which as in ‘Tudely’ give a layered effect. This webbing is particularly successful in her three small panels , ‘High Holborn Rooftops’, where green leaves of a spring evening sharply contrast with the blues and slate greys, and gold as of a lighted shop window gleams through the dense web.
In Cas’s case, the layers are produced through areas of found fabrics and dyes, as well as more open quilting and painted text. Her composition is achieved through the internal organisation of verticals and horizontals, leaving a feeling of openness. ‘Iris and Sparrows’ and ‘Madder’, for example, seem to float off the wall, the latter retaining the glow as well as the formality of a Rothko.
This dichotomy of flow followed by full stops running through the exhibition like the pillars of a Greek temple, gives a rhythm to the gallery. I would recommend the visitor to allow enough time to sit and absorb the atmosphere of such a peaceful and refreshing show, which remains open until 15th October. This splendid space is, alas, due to disappear in the near future.
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