31.3.14

SHOW OF THE WEEK - ORGANIC INTIMACY, KAY LAWRENCE, ROSEMARY O ROURKE, RUTH HADLOW, EMA SHIN

Going Organic

Kay Lawrence's 'Day by Day' is an ode to the dedication needed for a kantha style quilt with an accompanying journal

The act of methodically stitch is not that radically different to writing. One word, one stitch after another to create a whole. Given that we do both, it was no wonder we loved the new show Organic Intimacy at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery

Sara Lindsay acts as both curator and artist with her clever work

Tucked up in the Nicholas Building you have to really keep track of what is going on up there because the shows are often so quiet they slip in and out without us knowing. To my mind a textile based exhibition curated by textile artist Sara Lindsay should have a little more fanfare.

Rosemary O Rourke puts pen to paper to express movement in cloth through drawn stitches

The makers involved have created work of great delicacy, thought and finish. There is no rough and ready slapdash woolly tomfoolery on show here. It doesn't have the joy or playfulness of that sort of work. As a viewer you need to take your time, there is no 'speed reading' possible here.

Claire Collett's piece was delicate and robust at the same time, capturing the stitch as strength in her well balanced work

Accompanying the work is a fantastic essay by artist Ruth Hadlow that provides rich insight to the painstaking process of creating art with a needle and thread. It takes complete dedication to both process and end point. No one could accuse this group of artists taking any short cuts.

Michele Eliot adds sophisticated concepts to upcycling gifted clothes
Ema Shin's delicate woodblock and stitched work is seductive and serene

The over all palette is cool and serene, there are no neon triangles to wage war on the senses. Don't get us wrong, we love neon triangles (in fact I'm wearing one right now) but what we are after from textile based art on show is balance. We want to see it all, and it was refreshing to find work that spoke so articulately about the connections between stitch thought and word. 
Words RAMONA Pictures BECK

ORGANIC INTIMACY
Wednesday - Saturday Open until April 12
11-5pm
Stephen McLaughlan Gallery
Room 816, Nicholas Building 
Melbourne


8 comments:

Claire Collett said...

Thanks for the lovely review, Beck! Would you mind crediting my work please? It's the only one without artist details.

Claire Collett

Anonymous said...

Many thanks for this insightful review! The exhibition is going to Ararat Regional Art Gallery from October 12- November 30 and I am working on further possibilities!
Sara

HANDMADELIFE said...

Dear Claire, apologies on the oversight. My review went up pre coffee this morning! congratulations on your beautiful work - RAMONA

HANDMADELIFE said...

Sara, we did genuinely love the show. Congratulations on putting together such a fine and sensitive textile based art from a wonderful group of makers - Ramona and Beck

Alex said...

Oh! i'll definitely have to check this out! thanks

Sandra Eterovic said...

Ooops -- I have never even heard of that gallery! Will head up there today. There is A LOT to be said for work that doesn't take short cuts or contain neon triangles. Something to keep in mind while doing one's own work.....
Sending you love and the bestest of thoughts and wishes xxx

librarygirl said...

Lovely, lovely, thanks for sharing.

Emidio said...

Stephen McLaughlan Gallery often have shows featuring the hand made. You can keep up with the latest on their Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/StephenMcLaughlanGallery