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Fiber Focus 2011

Fiber Focus 2011

September 6-October 13, 2011

Main Gallery, Art Saint Louis

Art Saint Louis presents our biennial fiber/textile art exhibition open to artists in Missouri and the eight Midwestern regional states that border us: Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Gallery view: Fiber Focus 2011. Photograph by Robin Hirsch.

ABOUT OUR JUROR

Lia Cook is an internationally exhibited textile artist based in Berkeley, CA. She is currently Professor of Art, Textiles and Graduate Studies at California College of Arts, where she has taught since 1976. Lia works in a variety of media combining weaving with painting, photography and digital technology. She exhibits nationally and internationally, most recently in China, Sweden, Costa Rica, Austria, and Canada. Her works are in the permanent collections of: MOMA, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Cooper Hewitt, New York; Museum of Art & Design, New York; Minneapolis Institute of Art; Cleveland Museum of Art; Smithsonian Museum, The National Collection, France; de Young Museum, San Francisco, Oakland Museum of California; Musee Bellerieve, Switzerland; and National Gallery of Australia.

Highlights from the opening weekend of Fiber Focus 2011. Pictured with their works (l to r) top: David Brackett, Susannah Dotson, Suzy Farren, Leandra Spanger; lower: Sheri Hausman, Jill Rumoshosky Werner, Sheri Hausman & Sharon Wright, unnamed friend, Arturo Alonzo Sandoval & Juror Lia Cook. Photos by Robin Hirsch.

Fiber Focus 2011 is presented with the generous support of Missouri Arts Council, Missouri Fiber Artists, Regional Arts Commission, Pat & Paul Owoc, and Karen Pauls.

Suzy Farren, Webster Groves, MO. I Could Fear That, Too. 2011. Mixed Media, 17”x24”. $260.

Gallery view: Fiber Focus 2011. Photograph by Robin Hirsch.

For this year's exhibit, 60 artists submitted 259 artworks for our juror's consideration. From those entries, Lia Cook selected 56 artworks by 42 artists for this year's show. Our featured artists inFiber Focus 2011 are:

Aviva Alter, Chicago, IL
Carol Bormann, Springfield, MO 
David Brackett, Lawrence, KS
J. Penney Burton, Columbia, MO
Dianna Callahan, Morrisville, MO     Award of Excellence
Shin-hee Chin, McPherson, KS
Rosemary Claus-Gray, Doniphan, MO    Award of Excellence
Susannah Dotson, Chicago, IL
Suzy Farren, Webster Groves, MO
Carlene Fullerton, Richmond Heights, MO
Katy Gilmore, Greenville, IL
Mindy Goodman, Kansas City, MO
Stephanie Grubbs, Edmond, OK 
Erika Lynne Hanson, Kansas City, MO
Sheri Hausman, Hermann, MO
Marjorie Hoeltzel, St. Louis, MO 
Jess Jones, Smithville, TN
Donna June Katz, Chicago, IL
Lialia Kuchma, Chicago, IL
Carol LeBaron, Elilzabethton, TN
Bette Levy, Louisville, KY
Nicole Ottwell, Edwardsville, IL    Award of Excellence
Pat Owoc, St. Louis, MO
Teresa Paschke, Ames, IA    Second Place
Marti Plager, Louisville, KY
Deeann Rieves, Brentwood, TN
Luanne Rimel, Webster Groves, MO
Trudy Rogers-Denham, Columbia, MO   Best of Show Award sponsored by Missouri Fiber Artists
Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, Lexington, KY
Adrienne Sandusky, St. Louis, MO
Jayson Schwaller, Hays, KS
Susan Swisher, Murphysboro, IL
Melinda Snyder, Louisville, KY 
Leandra Spangler, Columbia, MO
Patricia Vivod, Troy, IL 
Ruth E.W. Walker, Columbia, MO & Suza Wooldridge, Hartsburg, MO
Kathy Weaver, Highland Park, IL
Jennifer Weigel, St. Louis, MO
Jill Rumoshosky Werner, Wichita, KS    Third Place
Sharon Wright, Barrington, IL 
Peggy Wyman, Macomb, MO      Award of Excellence
Carol Zeman, Osage Beach, MO     Award of Excellence

Some of the artworks featured in our

Fiber Focus 2011 exhibit on view in the ASL Gallery

September 6 — October 13, 2011

Donna June Katz, Chicago, IL. Hoagy Carmichael Sampler. 2009. Whole Cloth Quilt: Hand Painted (Thinned Acrylic on Unbleached Muslin), Hand Quilted, 32”x35”. $3,500.		Kathy Weaver, Highland Park, IL. Optimized Persistence. 2009. Satin, Airbrushed, Hand Quilted, 36”x36”. $1,000.
Peggy Wyman, Macomb, MO. Stream of Consciousness. 2011. Long-Leaf Pine Needles, Irish Waxed Linen, Pearl Cotton, Wire, 10”x24”x12”. $1,195. Award of Excellence.		Deeann Rieves, Brentwood, TN. Holding it Together. 2010. Machine Embroidery, Canvas, Mixed Media, Wood, 24”x26”x2”. $650.
Lialia Kuchma, Chicago, IL. Crane. 2010. Tapestry, 63”x87”. $13,000.		Bette Levy, Louisville, KY. Dawson Hill: Three Aspects of Black Locust. 2009. Hand Embroidery, triptych: 13”x11”; 17”x13”; 13”x11". $2,500.
Sharon Wright, Barrington, IL. Rooster Feather Series: Veiled in Teal. 2011. Hand Embroidery, Trade Beads, Wool Roving, Colored Pencil, Paint on Fabric, 14"x16". Not for Sale.		Teresa Paschke, Ames, IA. A.K. 2011. Printed Textiles: Digital Photography, Wide-Format Ink Jet Printing on Cotton Canvas, Hand-Embroidery, 31”x48”x1”. $3,200. Second Place.
David Brackett, Lawrence, KS. Left Bend, Right Hook. 2009. Cotton, Mill-Woven Original Jacquard Designs, Pieced, Machine Stitched, 62”x71”. $5,000.		Leandra Spangler, Columbia, MO. Yampu. 2011. Reed, Wire, Handmade Paper, Found Paper, Wood Balls, Sewing Thread, Tulle, Paint, 15”x20”x10”. $2,100.
Carol LeBaron, Elilzabethton, TN. Dry Pitcher II. 2010. Cotton Jacquard Tapestry 72”x54”. $4,000.		Melinda Snyder, Louisville, KY. Mark Making 5, Aerial View. 2010. Quilt: Printed Cotton, Dyed Cotton, 33”x38”. $1,000.

Gallery view: Fiber Focus 2011. Photograph by Robin Hirsch.

HISTORY

Since 1995, our Fiber Focus exhibition has featured artworks by hundreds of the Midwest region's strongest & most inventive fiber, textile, and mixed media artists—artists who are internationally recognized, exhibited and collected. Art Saint Louis is privileged to provide the unique opportunity to present contemporary fiber work in our gorgeous gallery.

 

Gallery view: Fiber Focus 2007. Photo by Robin Hirsch.

In addition to exhibiting works by this region's finest artists, Fiber Focus has an impressive history of exhibit jurors, includingoutstanding key internationally recognized figures working in contemporary fiber art. Past jurors of "Fiber Focus" include:

 

1995  Barbara Lee Smith, artist, curator, lecturer, author

1997 Rebecca A.T. Stevens, artist, lecturer, author, curator,Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.

1999 Yoshiko Wada, artist, curator, author, Professor, University of California, Berkeley

2001  Laurel Reuter, author, Founding Director, North Dakota Museum of Art

2003  Junco Sato Pollack, artist, Associate Professor of Art, Head of Textiles, School of Art & Design, Georgia State University, Atlanta

2005  Bhakti Ziek, textile artist, author, Randolph, VT

2007  Jane Sauer, artist, owner, Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

2009 Alice Zrebiec, curatorial consultant, Santa Fe, NM; consulting curator of Textile Art, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO

View highlights from Fiber Focus 2009 and Fiber Focus 2007.

 

Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, Lexington, KY. Pattern Fusion No. 12: Motherboard 3. 2009 Machine-Stitched & Interlaced, Recycled Auto Industry Mylar, Recycled Library 35mm Microfilm, Multi-Colored Threads, Plaited Braid, Holographic Film, Pellon, Polymer Medium, Fabric-Backed, 73.5”x76”. $15,000.

 

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** Fiber Focus 2011 is part of Innovations in Textiles 9 a biennial collaborative event in St. Louis, MO, that investigates the state of contemporary textile arts. Over 20 area nonprofit & private arts organizations, galleries & museums are joining forces to present exhibitions related to fiber art created by national & international artists. Activities include workshops, lectures, gallery talks, a bus tour, and more. This collaborative serves to enlighten the community with a unique aesthetic prospective on fiber art featuring various materials and techniques. The broad range of programming offered mirrors the symposium’s dedication to the investigation of innovative ideas.**

ALL Art Saint Louis programs & operations are made possible with the support of Whitaker Foundation, Regional Arts Commission, Missouri Arts Council, Emerson, EdwardJones, and the Arthur & Helen Baer Foundation.