Craft Alliance in the Kranzberg Arts Center: Friday, 17 June 2011

Connected by Intricacy: 2010-2011 Artists-In-Residence Exhibition
June 17 – August 28, 2010
FREE Panel Discussion 5 pm
FREE Opening Reception on Friday, June 17, 6-8 pm

Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 12noon – 6pm; Sunday, 12noon – 5pm, Closed Monday and Tuesday

The exhibition features the work of Rena Wood (Fiber Residence), Rachel Akin (Clay Residence), Gina Rosienski and Gwen Oulman Brennan (Metals Residence). The exhibition is the culmination of their comprehensive artistic investigation during their residencies. An in-depth panel discussion with the Artists-In Residence will be lead by artist Nancy Newman Rice at 5 pm.

RENA WOOD
“I like the idea of using craft materials to blur the boundaries between what is considered fine art and what is considered craft,” said Rena Wood. The foundations of her work are hand-dyed sections of silk that create a background for each piece. Influenced by the composition and line quality of traditional Asian landscape paintings, Wood uses hand embroidery to ‘draw’ on the fabric allowing each stitch to influence the next. The finished work maintains a mutable quality; changing with each viewing dependant upon the time of day, quality of light, and the viewer’s position in relation to the piece.

RACHEL AKIN
Inspired by vintage glass forms, Rachel Akin creates soft, curvaceous porcelain vessels. During her residency she has focused on creating two bodies of work: utilitarian wares for daily use and dessert vessels for special occasions. Her elegant wheel-thrown vessels are embellished with hand rolled beads of porcelain creating a pearl-like rim. “I enjoy embellishing the surfaces of my work and creating tactile surfaces on objects that invite one to touch and use them,” said Akin.

GINA ROSIENSKI
“I enjoy manipulating the dichotomy between line and form, masculine and feminine, found and fine,” said Gina Rosienski. “That is where my most recent enthrallment with bullet casings has stemmed from.” Masculine bullet casings juxtaposed with baroque inspired feminine filigree provide an inspiring conversation. Rosienski’s jewelry blurs the distinction between wearable sculpture and jewelry, creating pieces that cannot exist without the body they rest on.

GWEN OULMAN BRENNAN
Gwen Oulman Brennan’s jewelry forms a relationship between shoelaces and reflectors, two objects that have become so familiar to us that they are often taken for granted. She has translated the shapes and textures of these everyday items into cast metal and carved bone. “The labor intensive carving of such a simple form whose function is so immediate felt contradictory yet necessary,” said Oulman Brennan. Her work inspires the viewer to investigate the push and pull of connections and relationships.

Craft Alliance in the Kranzberg Arts Center
501 N. Grand
St. Louis, MO 63103
www.craftalliance.org
(314) 534-7528