Exhibition of 67 miniature tapestries and textiles
11 - 25 Feb 2010*
'EL Morley'
*Please note the gallery will not be open on Saturdays during this exhibition
In this Morley Gallery exhibition seventeen artists are each showing four miniature tapestries, displayed in 30 x 30 cm Perspex boxes, unifying but also isolating each Hidden History. This is an exhibition of little tapestries but it is ambitious in its intentions. The artists feel that the loss of skills in art disciplines from drawing to weaving is a sad comment on current values, but in this exhibition the artists glory in the amount of time devoted and the consummate skill involved to produce stunning works of art. In the age of fast food and instant gratification and at a time when talent-challenged celebrities make headlines without having to exhibit any ability, a group of artists has said, in effect, ‘Enough is enough'. STAR President Maureen Hodge said, ‘The work in this exhibition is about both art and craft, where the primary aesthetic impulse is expressed and refined through the on-going action of making. This exhibition aims not only to show the dynamics within the art, but the parallel relationships within the process of creation itself.'
The members of this recently-formed exhibition group (STAR*) are all graduates of the Tapestry Department of Edinburgh College of Art, where the work pushed the boundaries of definition, moving from current fibre practice to electronic media and installation, underpinned by a strong emphasis on drawing. This exhibition will show these crossovers and explore the links between media.
STAR.* see tapestry as being about both art and craft; about the marriage of content, concept and construction where the thinking process is combined with the doing - developing their concepts further in the making. They aim to catch the essence of their original ideas by recreating the buzz of the colours, constructing the tensions and subtly transcribing the underlying elements within the maquette - which may exist as only the tiniest of thumbnail sketches. Some of the artists have remained true to high-loom Gobelin tapestry, whereas others have developed in a much freer fashion - but they all revel in the sensuality of a medium which appeals to the senses in both a visual and a haptic way. Tapestry offers all sorts of possibilities, and some would even echo Archie Brennan, the doyen of the group, when he says, "Quite simply, the practice of woven tapestry has been an obsessive passion my entire adult life."
Participating artists are Jo Barker, Archie Brennan, Sara Brennan, Amanda Gizzi, Linda Green, Alice Hannigan, Maureen Hodge, Stephen Hunter, Fiona R Hutchison, William Jefferies, Ellen Lenvik, Birgitta MacDonald, Jo McDonald, Susan Mowatt, Colin Parker, Paul R Penrice, Anna Ray and Joanne Soroka.
For further information and photos: Joanne Soroka, 0131 220 3355; STAR@soroka.plus.com; Fiona Hutchison, 07877 457 332
