Craft Alliance in the Loop: Friday, 18 March 2011

STORYLINES: CONTEMPORARY EMBROIDERY
Exhibition challenges conventional views on embroidery
March 18 – May 8
FREE Opening Reception on Friday, March 18, 6-8pm

Craft Alliance is pleased to announce the opening of the exhibition Storylines: Contemporary Embroidery. The exhibition, features work from Michael Aaron McAllister, Diem Chau, Ray Materson, Chris Niver, Deborah Slabeck Baker, and Cayce Zavaglia.

In this exhibition, six contemporary artists push the boundaries of the traditional art form of embroidery. Stitch by stitch, each artist depicts a story through exploring the potential of this time-honored technique. The artists featured were selected because their works challenge conventional ideas about embroidery and explore its potential to communicate their ideas.

McAllister portrays the personalities of historical figures through elaborate stitches and embellishments. Some of these legendary people include William Shakespeare, Teddy Roosevelt, and Emily Dickinson. Materson found inspiration in a pair of socks while in prison. Salvaging the thread from those socks, he created miniature tapestries depicting life outside prison walls. Dedicating forty to sixty hours to each piece, Materson creates intricate, mind-blowing, miniature embroideries with an average of 1,200 stitches per a square inch. In a unique combination, Chau stitches her stories on hard surfaces like coffee cups and plates. Her work reveals forgotten moments in time using familiar objects in unfamiliar ways. She creates delicate vignettes of fleeting memories, gestures and forms. Using only black thread, Niver carefully “draws” individual characters in isolated situations. The ominous figures produce a variety of emotions including fear, loneliness, and vulnerability. His dark inspiration comes from the scrimshaw work of 19th century sailors which chronicled the hardships and gravity of life. As another artist utilizing black thread on fabric, Baker communicates her stories and ideas through small drawings on natural linen. Her narratives are stitched directly onto the fabric in a freehand style. Through techniques found in drawing and painting, Zavaglia transforms her embroidery into realistic snapshots of humanity.

Opening concurrently at the Charak Gallery is the exhibition, Lets Talk About Love Baby, featuring romance novels created by various artists around the world. The concept is to compile individual ideas of what “love” symbolizes.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Thursday, 10am – 5pm; Friday and Saturday, 10am – 6 pm, Sunday, 11am – 5pm. Closed Monday

Craft Alliance in the Delmar Loop
6640 Delmar Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63130
www.craftalliance.org
(314) 725-1177