PLUSH - Soft Sculpture + Fiber Art Invitational, April 4 - 22, 2022
The Glass Gallery, University of Georgia
Artists: Emily Albee, AJ Aremu, Kate Burke, Hannah Ehrlich, Katie Ford, Sally Garner, Kate Kosek, Kengel Maysonet, Jacob Pet
Co-curated with Jason Rafferty
“Plush” evokes not only thickness and softness, but an affect that is “abundantly rich, lush, and luxurious” (Merriam-Webster.) This exhibit displays innovative works of soft sculpture, fiber and textile art from nine contemporary artists exploring new terrain in these disciplines. Featuring anamorphic abstract shapes, fragments of bodies, pliable grids and draping text, these works eschew strict horizontals and verticals in favor of shifting, folding undulations. Their subjects evoke bodies, adornment, interior spaces, autobiography, and the materiality and making processes of fiber and textile arts, amongst other themes. Material and color choices are often surprising and playful, subverting the viewer’s expectations about the appearance and function of familiar forms. The works present compelling hybridities, often an assemblage of highly differentiated processes and materials - tufting, stuffing, sewing, weaving, wrapping, bending, cutting, layering, coating, moulding, welding. The result is an exciting exchange of objects and ideas amongst nine artists who are pushing creative practice and traditional fiber and sculptural processes in compelling new directions.
