Flashin back- more on Orly Genger

First written about back in '09...


Check out my article here on the super sized crochet work of Orly Genger.

Then again in spring 2011.... mentioning my new found interest in piles!



Speaking of alumni, I was over looking at the OSU website, my undergrad, and was super psyched to see that their current visiting artist is Orly Genger. I have written about her work here before but is is cool enough to mention again.


For some reason when I think of Orly's work I always think of her outdoor installations rather then her interior work and it was nice to be reminded how gorgeous and heavy her interior work is.

awesome chair....


I have been thinking a lot about piles lately and how I can work with them in my work. To me the pile is such a powerful image and my studio is full of them, which visually I love, but now that I am a mama my house is full of them too. Piles of clean clothes, dirty clothes, toys, diapers, dishes...It is such a symbol for domestic life. So even though though Orly's work is totally not about that - the piling she tends to do totally inspired my brain.

still cool.

 

 

How cool is this installation at Madison Square Park in NYC by Orly Genger....

the mark is enough-

 I recently saw the work of Roanna Wells in the new books "Drawn to stitch" and loved it! A lot of the work is super simple repetition of stitches massed further and closer apart. Conceptually it is obvious that a lot more is going on but to be frank- I don't care.

Her work makes me not need to know what is inspiring her or how she makes decisions instead I just want to look at it. I can read into it if I want or I can see it as marks. I can think about groupings but I'd rather just let thought go and simply see.

details of various works above.

I am very inspired by how direct and simple the work is. I would never be able to just make stitches and let that be enough and I love that she can.

She also has a new work that is about taking away and I think it is an exciting direction.

See more of her work here.

threaded words

The Threads catalogue from earlier this spring. I have included the intro essay by Jenn McNamara and the pages featuring me. Again the images are large enough to click on and read. Enjoy.

self-fabricated words...

In the process of working on getting my website updated I have finally scanned in some pages from recent catalogues that have featured my work. This is from the winter exhibit Self-Fabricated at the Arts Complex Museum. Each artist had a short essay written about their work.  I was actually very nervous about how it would end up as it seemed like the writer and I struggled to communicate and the work featured is VERY hard to photograph so she was struggling in "getting" my work. But in the end she totally understood it and wrote a lovely piece about it. These are higher res images so if you click on them they become big enough for you actually read the text. Let me know what you think!

piled on the floor

When I was at the Brooklyn Museum a few weeks back I was drawn into the American Paintings gallery from afar by the above painting by Sylvia Plimack Mangold. I of course recognized her last name to be of Robert Mangold but had never heard of her before.

Apparently more known as a landscape artist she did a series of domestic space scenes, focused significantly on the floor and light. With a few of these paintings littered with the remnants of undressing and dirty clothes.

Since my new work is shifting towards this "domestic" still life I am kind of totally obsessed with looking at other artists that have done it. Much like when I shifted toward fiber I wanted to see it validated and explored by other artists- maybe this is the same. I move more and more towards drawing, thought still stitched, and want to see that this imagery can be valued by others.

I am sure I over think it all but since I actually want to be making my living as either a professor or artist you kind of have to I guess. Anyway I love these paintings by Sylvia- as the piles of clothes are what I am so interested in stitching at the moment and the patterns of sunlight on the floor have been a favorite photography subject of mine for many years.

I enjoy how simple her work is in composition but how meticulous it is in the craft. I would love to be able to find some more information and images of this particular work of hers. Now I know to keep my eye out.

right?

 
blur... that is what life is like at the moment. I am so busy. I have been really happy as I am teaching a ton which is great, making work, slowly but making it and am excited about it and my daily life is good. But oh so oh not enough time for any of it.

I really would love to get to actually get some applications done, my website updated and stuff like that.  I am a little tiny freaking out as I have NO shows lined up and that is a first in a VERY long time. But of course I have not been getting in touch with galleries since my website needs updated. So annoyingly today I think I have to suck it up and give up my precious making hours to sit behind the computer and get my website update going. Rip the band aid off and then I can get some long overdue correspondences out for exhibits.

I know this is the right move but I so do not want to do it.  Reminder to self once my website is updated I can start applying for things, will get shows lined up, weight of shoulders lifted and then my work can be my focus again. Right?

 A blend for Friday Flashbacks this week. Links to 3 posts of 3 artists working with the beauty of the banal in different mediums. In truth my favorite work to see.

First from January 2012 some stone carved everyday. Here.

Hands down some of my fave paintings, from April 2009,  I so still want one. Patterns, domesticity and banality. Here.

and some quietly lovely photographs -from fall 2008, old school. here.

repetition in the task.

 

some very interesting work by Stacia Yeapanis. When I first saw it I thought it was fiber collage but indeed it is meticulously cut out magazine pages.

The careful craftsmanship is impressive and how she cuts things out and assembles them reminds me of how ribbons and lace move. See much more of this work along with details on her website.

She also has an interesting collection of cross stitch series called everybody hurts with images taken from tv shows.

She says this about her work:

I explore the emotional and existential experience of repetition in our daily tasks and in the mediated ways we participate in culture, from television watching to gaming to flipping through magazines. Working in a combination of digital and handmade media, I use the conceptual strategies of accumulation, collection, appropriation and remix to reveal the capacity of these tasks/pleasures to be either monotonous, frenzied or meditative. 

 

See more.