I'm constantly reminded what a small world this is. About a month ago, I came across Barbara Wisnoski's stunning wall hangings. I printed one of them for my inspiration wall and intended to share her work here.
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| Platonic Target, Barbara Wisnoski 81x162 cm |
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| White Rag Quilt, Barbara Wisnoski. 170x195 cm |
Myrna called me this week to tell me that Barbara was coming out for the opening of Scrap ART at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles this weekend. A chance to meet Barbara and see her amazing artwork in person? An opportunity I wouldn't miss.
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| White Rag Quilt detail, Barbara Wisnoski. 170x195 cm |
A lot of her pieces seem to reference the landscape, a subject you know I'm always drawn to. They remind me of aerial photos of fields. Sure enough, I find a piece entitled Field.
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| Field, Barbara Wisnoski. 165x229 cm |
What I really love about these pieces are how differently they look up close. The detail is incredibly intricate. I can't wait to ask her how long it takes to make each work and how she pieces them together. I'll let you know what I find out.
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| Field detail, Barbara Wisnoski. 165x229 cm |
Barbara sums up the approach to her work as this:
"As maniacally repetitive process, (these pieces) embody the meaning I derive from textiles and ritual, and carry contradictory connotations of repetition’s beauty and innate absurdity."
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| Platonic Landscape detail, Barbara Wisnoski. 145x81 cm |
"I am interested in the relationship between texture and time. The process of building a piece, whereby a fabric loses its singular quality and becomes part of the whole, reminds me of how time washes a harmonious patina over objects and memories. The prospect of decay is key to the work: seeing how pieces done long ago have changed over time reminds me that they were made from living fibres and, like us, evolve and deteriorate. Also like us, these pieces become more themselves, therefore more beautiful, with age."
Barbara Wisnoski
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| Evening, Barbara Wisnoski. 145x165 cm |
Please check out all of Barbara's work on her website here. I hope some of you can make it to the opening and the show who live nearby. The opening is this Sunday, the 21st from 2 to 4 at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. The show runs through October 16th. If you plan to come to the opening, let me know. It would be great to meet some of you in person!
10 comments:
oh my, I'm so envious! her work looks amazing. Would love to see more close ups! Have fun at the opening!
I adore Barbara's work and I wish I could be there to see it in person and to meet both of you. I can't wait to find out what you think.
I also love Barbara's work and wish I could go to the Scrap Art exhibition! Could you take photos from the show to share with us?!! Thanks!!!
How wonderful for you, Kathryn! I hope you two have a good talk!
i like those target pieces a lot.
you can tell that these are just not going to cut it in photographs. i'm hoping i can get down to sj to see the show before it ends.
thanks for the intro
I am mesmerized. Curious about construction technique? Wish I were west.
Just found your blog, thanks for sharing her work, I'd not seen it before and it's exactly what I like (I'm also what you'd call an articraft person).
Have only skimmed a couple of post images but I can see already that I love your work too. Anything textiles that takes ages is right up my street (I've got several pieces I've been working on since the early 90's, they just grow and grow).
Clearly you are the place to come to find all the great pieces I've been missing during my 3 year blog/web hiatus. Maybe now I can get back to blogging about artist/crafters I love instead of constantly showing people photo's of my plants.
my goodness. her quilts are insanely beautiful. thanks for sharing...
Wonderful artist! I'm a sucker for all white art...something about the purity and subtle variations. Thanks for this introduction.
So many fans of Barabara's work! Her work is even more stunning in person! She was wonderful to talk to, very inspriring, and so talented at discussing her work.
@Cally, thanks for ultimate compliment on my blog! I love yours too. I just bought a huge garden so I could use some inspiration! Bookmarked!
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