Hosted by the Craft & Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles
by Eulanda Sanders
The 2014 TSA Symposium, New Directions: Examining the Past, Creating the Future, concluded on September 13th with the opening reception of the organization’s inaugural juried exhibition at the Craft & Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) in Los Angeles. The evening provided an opportunity for TSA members to visit with artists and jurors, view the selected textile art in detail, shop in the CAFAM gift shop, and enjoy food and music on the museum’s patio. The reception included introductions of the artists and jurors in attendance, a welcome from CAFAM Executive Director Suzanne Isken and CAFAM Exhibition Manager Sasha Ali, and a gallery talk by TSA board members and exhibit co-organizers Gerry Craig and Eulanda Sanders. TSA’s first juried exhibition opening was a lively party and lovely way to celebrate this new addition to the organization’s biennial event and an overall successful symposium!
Works by a diverse group of 19 emerging and established textile artists were juried into the show. The jury, consisting of artists Gerhardt Knodel and Carol Shaw-Sutton, as well as Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Deputy Curatorial Director Matilda McQuaid and TSA Executive Director Tali Weinberg, reviewed over 400 submissions from 159 artists internationally.
Images of the exhibited works, artist bios, and statements by each artist may be downloaded at the following link, https://textilesocietyofamerica.org/symposia-2014/juried-exhibition/. The selected works illustrate a willingness of TSA members to challenge the use of traditional materials and processes, exposing viewers of the exhibit to innovations in textile arts, ultimately fostering discussions on the interdisciplinary nature of textile art. Several of the exhibiting artists participated in a panel discussion “Contemporary Textile & Fiber Art Exhibitions: TSA Juried Exhibition and Hangzhou Triennial” on Friday at the symposium, providing insight into their work and careers as textile artists.
Selected Artists: Whitney Artell, Guillermo Bert, Caroline Charuk, Lia Cook, Henia Eizenberg, Jenne Giles, Amy Gross, Ana Lisa Hedstrom, Mariko Kusumoto, June Lee, Abbie Miller, Susan Moss, Linda Ohrn- McDaniel, Peggy Osterkamp, Meghan Price, Jennifer Reifsneider, Cynthia Schira, Pauline Verbeek-Cowart, and Irene Walker.
The Craft & Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) is an invaluable collaborator with TSA on this exhibition. TSA is honored to have partnered with an organi- zation that values leading edge craft, art, and design, thus representing diverse makers and artists. Holly Jerger, CAFAM’s Senior Curator of Public Engagement, has planned a variety of textile oriented evening and week- end programs, http://www.cafam.org/programs, during the exhibit dates, including one led by participating artist Guillermo Bert. If you are in Los Angeles check them out!
Special thanks are extended to the Antonia and Vladimir Kulaev Cultural Heritage Fund, the CAFAM Staff and Board, TSA President Elena Phipps, Los Angeles fiber artist Ruth Katzenstein Souza, TSA Executive Director Tali Weinberg, and the TSA Board of Directors for their support of the exhibition.
Eulanda Sanders is a TSA board member and one of the co-organizers of the exhibition.
New Directions and The Answer is Yes run through January 4, 2015 at the Craft & Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, CA
Admission: free Sunday; regularly: $7 for adults; $5 for students, teachers, seniors, and veterans; free for CAFAM members
Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; closed Mondays. Every first Thursday of the month, extended hours 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
For more information, visit www.cafam.org.
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