Annual Sinton Lecture: Invisible Blue with Rowland Ricketts

 

The lecture will take place in-person and virtually on Saturday, 3/18/23 10am PT

 

Rowland Ricketts will discuss his work growing, processing and dyeing with indigo on his farm in Indiana.  His art is a reflection on indigo’s material properties and its global context. Special emphasis will be placed on recent works that make palpable the invisible aspects of the color’s creation as well as the invisible histories and forces that lie below the surface of this globally revered dye.  

Speaker Biography:
Rowland Ricketts utilizes natural dyes and historical processes to create contemporary textiles that span art and design.  Trained in indigo farming and dyeing in Japan, Rowland received his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2005 and is a Professor in Indiana University’s Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design.  His work has been exhibited at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery. Rowland is a recipient of a United States Artists Fellowship.

Photo credit:
Ai-no-keshiki – Indigo Views, 2018. Rowland Ricketts – art direction, Norbert Herber – sound. Indigo-dyed linen, faded over 5 months in the homes of 450 participants from 9 countries. Installation at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery, 2020. Image courtesy of Renwick Gallery.