Connecting Threads

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Photo by Cameron Heryet.

Monika Napier, "Swarm," 1995

fabric over plaster forms with beads and bells. Collection of Surrey Art Gallery.

Connecting Threads, opens Sunday, September 23 from 1:30 to 4pm. A panel discussion with exhibiting artists Roxanne Charles, Bettina Matzkhun, and Ruth Scheuing will start at 1:30pm; reception follows at 2:30pm. Admission is free.

In our fast-paced world of electronic devices and digital communications, we can take for granted the soft, tactile world of textiles that is central to our daily lives. From cradle to grave, we are surrounded by fabric. We wrap our bodies in garments and blankets; we sleep on sheets and dry ourselves with towels; we envelop our homes with carpets and wall hangings. Fabrics of all types are part of our activities and environments. Artists recognize this commonplace and necessary role that textiles play both inside and outside the home.

Often associated with fashion or craft, textiles do not typically receive as much prominence in art museums as they deserve. Contemporary artists have long been creating astonishing works using fibre materials as a medium and exploring textiles as a subject.

“Surrey Art Gallery has acquired many contemporary textile artworks—particularly by women—over the past few decades. We are thrilled to show them together for the first time in the Gallery’s history in this exhibit that corresponds with the timing of the 2018 Textile Society of America Symposium in Vancouver,” says Jordan Strom, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections.

Drawn entirely from Surrey Art Gallery’s permanent collection, the textile artworks display a range of themes and styles: a knitted figurative sculpture; a map of Canada in the form of a quilt; needlepoint portraits of famous twentieth-century French philosophers; a stuffed sculpture meant to capture “dark matter” of quantum physics; and a deconstructed men’s suit made to look like a spider, inspired by Penelope in Homer’s classic book The Odyssey.

Explore these artworks and more that celebrate the human bond with nature, the deep relationship between the past and the present, and the importance of community and cross-cultural dialogue.

Artists: Inese Birstins, Pat Cairns, Elizabeth Carefoot, Roxanne Charles (with Feather Arnouse, Harley Chappell, Leann Wells, Samantha Wells, and Joan Williams), Barbara Cole, Barry Goodman, Adad Hannah, Robert Houle, Eva Kupczynski, Cora Li-Leger, Bettina Matzkuhn, Monika Napier, Robin Ripley, Diane Roy, Ruth Scheuing, Nep Sidhu, Margaret Sutherland, Barbara Todd

The afternoon will also celebrate the other textile artworks on exhibit including Maggie Orth’s interactive colour-changing weavings in Moving Towards Stillness; Kathy Slade’s pop culture-infused images and objects in This is a chor­­­­d. This is another.; and the abundance of beloved items for the home and wardrobe in The Art of Warmth by Peace Arch Weavers and Spinners Guild.

RELATED EVENTS

Admission to all exhibitions and events is free unless otherwise noted (donations gratefully accepted).

Panel and Opening Reception Sunday, September 23, 1:30−4pm

Celebrate the opening of our contemporary textile art exhibitions! A panel discussion with Connecting Threads artists Roxanne Charles, Bettina Matzkhun, and Ruth Scheuing will start at 1:30pm; reception follows at 2:30pm. Visitors will also have the opportunity to engage with a new participatory installation Bearing Witness by Roxanne Charles and Debbie Westergaard Tuepah and learn some weaving techniques in the process.

Exhibition Tour Saturday, October 20, 2:30−4pm

Unravel the threads (figuratively speaking) in our textile exhibits Connecting Threads and Moving Towards Stillness to learn about how the artworks are made, what inspired them, and how they challenge our assumptions about art. Exhibiting artists Kathy Slade and Robin Ripley will accompany Gallery Curator Jordan Strom to share their reflections on their works!