Curator

Woven: Three Artists of the Americas

Academic

collector

gallerist

Sandra Monterroso

Jana Vander Lee

Jessica Lagunas

Points in Resistance

Sandra Monterroso's work often engages with weaving and yarn as a way to express a connection to ancient Mayan traditions within the framework of contemporary art.  She has a great mastery of techniques of dying and weaving, and we can see that clearly in this work.  We tend to think of weaving as a means to a functional end (clothing, decoration) but here we have a purely abstract composition, bringing together the modern and the ancient in perfect balance.

Triángulo/Rax

This work has quite a striking composition, perhaps recalling a mask or a clothed body.  The materials in Monterroso's work always tell a story, and in this case she used indigo, which is one of the most ancient dyes known to us, with traces in ancient Egypt, but also in Mesoamerican civilization. It was also an important part of the plantation economy and the slave trade.  This work engages with deep and complex historical questions, while presenting an object that has great presence and mobilizing power.

Emmaus II

The title of this work refers to the Bible (Luke) and the story of Jesus's apparation to two strangers on the road to Emmaus (also the subject of a famous painting by Carravaggio in the National Gallery London).  I think it is particularly moving to use this metaphor that involves sight and faith, as the artist lost her own sight for a long period, before recovering it again.  Vander Lee's work is strongly influenced by ideas of religion, be they Christian or Native American, and the representation of faith in her abstract weavings.  In the video I read a short text written by the artist about this piece.

Midstream

This work is from the artist's series inspired by water.  In her work, every feature has both a physical and a metaphorical or metaphysical reading.  In this case I see two river banks with space of connection or dialogue between them, and I think of the wonderful title of a story by the Brazilian author João Guimaraes Rosa: "The Third Bank of the River" as a metaphor for a place to escape the binary oppositions that tend to rule our lives.

Pin Loom Hair Weave

These exquisite weavings made on pin looms are constructed from the grey and dark hairs of the artist. Her work deals with femininity, the passage of time, and ageing by literally incorporating her hairs into the weave of the fabric. I love that they are dedicated to Agnes Martin, herself an icon of patience, and with a famously full head of grey hair. The composition reminds me of Martin's sublime and meditative abstractions, but here with a more tangible physical presence.

Pin Loom Hair Weave #7

Pin Loom Hair Weave #5

Hair Weave #1 @ El Museo del Barrio’s Back in Five Minutes Residency

This work was made while the artist was in residence at El Museo del Barrio in New York.  She collected hair samples from visitors, staff, and her own body, and assembled them into this extensive and intimate portrait of a community, whose diversity can be garnered from the different hair types and styles.  I love how this work incorporates weaving, race, collaboration and intimacy into a powerful object.

In making this show, I wanted to reflect on the recent burst of interest in textile and fiber within contemporary art.  For too long, ‘art’ was something different from ‘craft’, even though these categories are at best only a couple of hundred years old. It has also been a convenient way to isolate and segregate the work of women, native artists, and many others.  For this exhibition I have brought together three women artists from different generations who all engage with very big ideas (spirituality, identity, being) through the grounded and intimate gesture of weaving.  I hope that you enjoy exploring their work, and do let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.

Woven: Three Artists of the Americas

Curated by Gabriel Perez-Barreiro