Friday, May 16, 2008

Art with Fiber - On Exhibit at the DeCordova Museum

Last night I went to the Opening reception of the The 2008 DeCordova Annual Exhibition, at the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA. The show is open through August 17, 2008. There are twelve artists who have work in the exhibit. I have chosen to only highlight the three artists whose work is fiber related.

I was immediately excited about the show when the first pieces I saw were Mitchel Ahern's fiber/printmaking pieces. Two incredible printed linen works, each 18 inches wide and 60 feet tall, are displayed vertically, right as you are enter the Museum. Many smaller pieces are hung on the wall that goes up the stairs. YEAH! It's wonderful to see fiber displayed in a contemporary art museum.

Seeing that "fiber" is a very loose term these days, I have to mention Niho Kozuru's rubber sculptures. I love them. The shapes and textures are great. I doubt the artist intended this, but the semi-transluscent colors reminded me of jello (and my grandmother's jello molds), and it warmed my heart.

Marguerite White's installation incorporated a little bit of fishermen's netting, but the main emphasis was a huge chalk drawing of the netting (on the wall) with vinyl cut-outs. I heard it took her many months to complete this installation on site. The picture on the link does not show what I'm referring to, so you'll need to go to the DeCordova and see it for yourself (if you happen to be in the Boston area this summer).