STRETCHING OUR ROOTS
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New York artist Susie Brandt’s quilt, Dainty, at first glance looks like neither a quilt nor fabric–and it’s definitely not dainty. Hung loosely on a wall so that it falls in folds, it lacks the geometric shapes and repeated patterns of traditional quilts. Instead, it’s composed of countless overlapping bits of lace ranging in color from bright white to faded brown. Because the pieces are layered, none remains discrete; together they form a continuous, richly textured whole that from a distance resembles the variegated surface of lichen or stones. Oddly enough, this curious illusion holds up even after closer viewing reveals that Brandt’s materials are man-made. Vacillating between nature and culture, her quilt resists categorization as it leads the viewer from forest to parlor and back again.
Chicago artist Mark Newport’s knotted sculptures also explore the expressive potential of ambiguity. Sceptre and Mace, two small clublike forms made of knotted waxed linen, lean precariously at eye level against the wall, supported by thin, carved wooden brackets. They’re simple forms but not simplistic–tension accrues from their resemblance to primitive weapons as well as from Newport’s tight knotting technique. Yet, since they’re hollow and literally dependent on wall and bracket, they’re more vulnerable than threatening. With their vaguely phallic shapes and brackets resembling high heels, these androgynous forms maintain a discomforting, surreal edge.
“Stretching Our Roots” presents 20 works by 14 artists in a small space, and as a result the exhibit at times feels crowded. And though it does indicate the diversity of contemporary fiber art, not all the artists shown here achieve the kind of profundity that Lentz, Newport, Yetz, and Brandt do. Mimi Holmes’s small beaded figures aim for a disturbing fetishistic presence, but their excess of glittery metallic beads and trinkets destroys the edge they might have had, rendering them almost playful. And though The Collectors Exhibition, Lynn Zetzman’s painstakingly appliqued quilt depicting a woman surrounded by possessions (beaded handbags, brooches, countless buttons), initially impresses the viewer with its wit, in the end it remains on the level of good-natured but unanalytical representation.
