The Conceptual Stitch at Concord Art
Curated by Jane Deering
37 Lexington Road | Concord, MA
November 3 – December 18, 2022
When asked to curate this show as part of Concord Art's Centennial Year honoring the founder Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts and her beautiful series of paintings that depict women sewing, it became an opportunity to seek answers to questions about current approaches to fiber in its many forms: from traditional fibers such as wool and thread and cloth to nontraditional fibers such as synthetics, paper, and plant materials. I was after the concepts behind works employing fiber—and thus the title The Conceptual Stitch.
The sixteen artists in this exhibition offered a wide spectrum of exploration, and as I listened, areas of possible overlap and connection emerged.
Visit concordart.org/exhibition/the-conceptual-stitch for more.
The catalogue can be viewed at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qXYdE48gy97fbxAv1o6l8k7uczZA2w5Z/view#
Sommer Roman, Life Lines in Neutrals 2022 (after The Clam Diggers by Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts). Post-consumer clothing and linens, 21 x 12 x 2 inches. Courtesy of the Artist.
Linda Ekstrom . My Dear Mrs. Gardner 2022 . Embroidery on Italian cotton, artist’s book, cloth, bound box . 30” x 10” x 2”
Andrew Mowbray . Fraternal Twin #1 2022 . Tyvek, thread . 30.5” x 30.5”
Sonya Clark . Araminta’s calling 2022 . Hand-stitched cotton, cyanotype . 25” x 27” . POR
Aparna Agrawal . Hands sewing—Still shot from the video MEND 2015 . 13” x 20”
Alice Fox . Dandelion Strip Cloth 2021 . Dandelion stems (Taraxacum officinale) braided and stitched . Framed : 22” x 18”
Linda Ekstrom . Mr. Thoreau, Mr. Hawthorne, Mr. Emerson, Ms. Alcott 2022
Each: Altered book, thread, bookbinding glue . Dimensions variable . Each: $900 Shown above: Mr. Hawthorne
Kellin Nelson . Marea 1 2022 . Acrylic Ink, watercolor, and 24k gold thread on watercolor paper . 12.5” diameter . Framed 18” x 18”
Leslie Lyman . Her Many Threads 2022 . Mixed media . 15.5” x 11.5” x 8”
Nava Lubelski . [a cast of my left hand} glove 7 2010 . Thread, trimmings . dimensions variable
Samantha Fields . Remembering What Never Was 2018 . Weaving . 54” x 49”
Sommer Roman, Life Lines in Blue Hues, 2022 (after Figures on the Beach, Annisquam by Elizabeth Wentworth Roberts). Post-consumer clothing and linens, 21 x 12 x 2 inches. Courtesy of the Artist.