Beyond Materials

THE OHIO CRAFT MUSEUM

Presents

Contemporary Baskets

featuring work by Dorothy Gill Barnes

February 1–March 22, 2015

Opening Reception: Feb. 1, 1–4 p.m. Gallery talk with Dorothy Gill Barnes at 3 p.m.

The work of renowned Ohio artist Dorothy Gill Barnes will be showcased in the Ohio Craft Museum’s upcoming exhibition, “Beyond Materials: Artists Pushing the Boundaries of Basketry.” On view February 1–March 22, 2015. The show will also feature forms by seven contemporary basketmakers from across the country.

“Dorothy Gill Barnes has been ‘pushing the boundaries of basketry’ for more than four decades, with her innovative—and wildly inclusive—use
of varied natural materials and freewheeling approach to sculptural form,” notes art historian and critic Ann Bremner. “This exhibition offers a glimpse of the range of her creative work, from woven baskets and constructions of the 1990s to recent projects that have emerged from her ongoing work with students in the glass program at The Ohio State University.”

The eight artists invited by curator Tracy Rieger include Massachusetts artist Jennifer Maestre, who sharpens and cuts hundreds of pencils into 1-inch sections, then sews them together to create her sculptures. Working with a variety of materials, including waxed linen, paper and even shoelaces, Ed Bing Lee, Pennsylvania, uses hundreds of knots to form his objects. Elizabeth Schulze, Massachusetts, constructs her baskets with pine needles and raffia, then uses paint, handmade paper and gel medium to draw and mark the surface.

“Other artists in the exhibition have each developed their own ways to challenge expectations and expand possibilities—often in directions quite different from those taken by Barnes,” Bremner says. “They too have embraced unexpected materials: from plastics and wires to vernacular objects such as pencils or shoelaces. And, like Barnes, they have nudged the vessel-like forms of traditional basketry into the wider expanses of sculpture and installation while embracing intriguing possibilities for commentary and narrative.”

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http://ohiocraft.org/ocm-exhibitions/upcoming/beyond-materials/