FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Lauren Bradshaw / (678) 787-9382 / laurenbradshawart@gmail.com
Shrouded Fissures, WORKS BY HEATHER BAUMBACH, LAUREN BRADSHAW, INGRID BUTTERER, NICOLE HAVEKOST, ALLISON HUDSON, SAMARA JOHNSON, JESSICA SWANK TO BE EXHIBITED AT THE APPALACHIAN CENTER FOR CRAFT IN SMITHVILLE, TN.
Exhibition Dates: January 22 - March 28, 2027
Reception: TBD
Appalachian Center for Craft & Zero Space Collective present “Shrouded Fissures.” The exhibition is curated by Lauren Bradshaw.
This exhibition seeks to elaborate on the ways in which craft materials and processes are used in contemporary art practice within the parameters of abstraction and non-functionality and the ways in which craft inherently evokes the tactility and malleability of the body. The works in this exhibition were created using processes primarily rooted in textile practice such as stitching, weaving, braiding, or felting and include materials ranging from fiber to clay, wood, hair, found objects, latex, and silicone. While some objects appear swaddled with care and others bound with violence, wrapping or bundling as a method of forming materials is a common practice among these works. This gesture of gathering coincides with an opposing sense of divergence due to the splitting, tearing, and fragmentation occurring within these bodies of material as they respond to tactile manipulation and take on dimensional form. A dialogue emerges between these opposing forces and shifts in meaning when considering the work of each individual artist as well as their works in relation to one another. There exists a subversion of social constructs such as femininity, motherhood, and domesticity which coincides with the rejection of the notion that craft must be functional.
Addressing deconstruction and reconfiguration, Theo Trotter unravels Ace bandages, a reference to chest-binding, and then carefully weaves their threads into a new form. Using the transformative method of wet-felting, which is a process of gathering, arranging, and then agitating fibers until cloth takes form, Lauren Bradshaw and Samara Johnson both explore memories of visceral sensation. Jessica Swank and Kate Timbes both manipulate domestic objects like pillows and bedsheets to address the divide between humans and non-humans in relationship to the boundaries of nature and technology. Heather Baumbach and Ingrid Butterer both reference the challenges of motherhood, domesticity, and labor which relates to cycles of regeneration found in the work of Allison Hudson and Nicole Havekost. The works in this exhibition are directly associated with embodied experiences and intense memories of the artists and collectively address concepts of identity, trauma, displacement, and healing.
Appalachian Center for Craft is located at 1560 Craft Center DriveSmithville, TN, 37166. Gallery hours are Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm, & Sun 12pm - 5pm.