Opening Reception:
Friday, 8/11 from 5-7pm
Show Run: 8/11 to 9/23
Textile Artists Explore Memory and Material in Eclectic, Colorful Show
Concrete and artificial flowers, cotton and luxurious silk are a few of the unique materials displayed within the “Feel the Weight” art exhibit curated by mother-daughter duo Nika and Salley Knight. This whimsical and thought-provoking end-of-summer show opens August 11 (reception from 5-7pm is open to the public) and continues until September 23.
The “Feel the Weight” art exhibit features three Maine-connected textile artists exploring the weight of personal memory, history, culture, and identity through a wide and eclectic variety of materials. On the floor, sculptures by Veronica A. Perez make use of often overlooked or maligned materials—fake flowers, wig hair, concrete—and combine them to create inventive, thought-provoking new forms. On the walls, Portland-based textile artist Isabelle O’Donnell uses a variety of cloths and dyes to create intricate, considered textile works inspired by the colors, patterns, and textures of the materials at hand. Finally, an expansive, hand-dyed silk wall installation and colorful silk paintings by artist and co-curator Salley Knight explore memories of childhood in Maine and Virginia. Like O’Donnell and Perez, Knight derives inspiration from her materials.
Colors, patterns, textures, and weight: in “Feel the Weight,” the limitations and potential of physical materials inspires wild, beautiful, and entertaining artworks.