TEXTILE/FIBER

In Reflection: “Three Sisters And Their Mother” and more

February 5, 2024 By Debra Disman

I was thrilled to have a solo exhibition last winter at ReflectSpace Gallery, part of Glendale Arts and Culture, in the Glendale Central Library which opened Saturday January 28th and was on view through March 19,2023.
The show, a dream come true that I did not even know I had, was curated by the wonderful Ara and Anahid Oshagan of The City of Glendale and founders of the gallery..

I was fortunate to have master photographer Gene Ogami document the show.

I share here two images featuring a work entitled, “Three Sisters And Their Mother”, which engages a concept and presentation I am still exploring.

“Three Sisters and Their Mother” (2022), made of canvas, acrylic paint, hemp cord, sunlight and gravity, is approximately 30” x 72”. Its dimensions are variable depending on how it is installed, the intervals of space between the components or sections, the way its ever-tangling cord/string wanders across each section, how high or low to the ceiling or the floor it is positioned, and how much in relief from the wall it is hung. As Eva Hesse once said about a work or works of hers… Can it be different every time…? (paraphrase). Naomi Spector writes beautifully about these ideas as regards to Hesse’s work.

Also pictured are: (below and clockwise from “Three Sisters And Their Mother”)
“I Can’t I Won’t I Will I Do”, (The titular work in the show), 2022,13 x 71.5”, repurposed table runner, acrylic paint, linen thread
“Finally”, (can hang on wall in slight relief), 2022, 48 x 19.5”, canvas, lace, hemp cord, sewing thread
“Excavation of the Interior”, 2021, 12″ x 28″ x 12.5″, wood, mulberry paper, canvas, muslin, watercolor paper, hemp cord, linen thread
Our human connections, gossamer though they may seem, form a tangled web that is always changing, and in some ways unfathomable, but there and always mysterious.

“String Theory” plays at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod!

January 30, 2024 By Debra Disman

I am thrilled to be participating in “String Theory“, an exhibition focusing on the versatility and creative potential of fiber, at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod.

Opening Reception Friday, February 9, 5–7pm

Exploring the possibilities within fiber art to showcase the beauty and versatility of the medium.

FIBER ART can be see as both a new and an old form of art. The use of fibrous materials—woven, knitted, printed, wrapped, tied, sculpted, etc.—has long been a part of human culture. Traditionally, fibrous materials emerged as functional objects but in the aftermath of the World War II and with further investigation into the nature of an art object, fiber art slowly became a force and a movement in its own right.

DURING THE 1950s, as artists received recognition, the term “fiber art” was coined to help describe and categorise their work. During this period, the contribution of craft artists—not just in fiber but in clay, ceramics, and other media—inspired a number of weavers to begin binding fibers into non-functional and non-objective forms to create works of art. The two decades that followed, the 1960s and the ’70s brought an international revolution in fiber art. With the rise of the women’s movement, and the consequences of feminist art, along with the birth of postmodernism theory, fiber art was reinforced and popularized.

FORMS OF FIBER ART include sewing, quilting, needle point, macrame, weaving, felting, crocheting, knitting, embroidery, rug-making, basket weaving and many more. As the years pass, different forms of fiber art have increased and decreased in popular artist interest. Macrame, for example, became very popular during the Victorian era, faded out of focus, then regained popularity in the 1970s. Today fiber art, in all its increasingly varied forms and styles, is more popular than ever and os one of the fastest-growing art forms of the 21st century.