UNTITLED/UNJURIED: the exhibit

Finally the show was hung, and the reception was held, during Convergence. The gallery director said that 500 people attended!!! It was mobbed. Gallery Night Providence provided 2 "Textile Tour Busses," and each was full. My feet were so tired after standing for over 4 hours, but it was absolutely a blast, getting to see so many friends, old and new.

There is still time to see it, until August 8, at the URI Feinstein Providence Campus Gallery, 80 Washington St, Providence, RI.

So now I have edited my photos, and here they are. Bad news, there will be no video - it turns out that I am a TERRIBLE videographer, and you would all be seasick if you watched it. For those who were not able to visit the gallery in person, I hope this gives you an idea of what the exhibit looks like.

The tapestries are wired onto black foam core panels, of which there are 39. Then the panels are screwed onto the carpet walls. I think the brown walls and black panels are very flattering to the tapestries, which stand out from the dark background like jewels.

(NOTE: Click on the photos to see them in a larger size)

Below: View from the stairs

The gallery has 2 entrances, so we put a title on the first wall at each side, as well as wall text describing the exhibit itself, and its sponsor, the American Tapestry Alliance. The gallery is in the main hallway of a very busy urban university. The building itself is historic, it was the Shepard's Department Store. On the walls around our exhibit you can see tapestries that are part of the TWiNE 2014 exhibit, which includes 61 tapestries, and extends from the hallway, up the stairs, into the upstairs hallway and gallery.

Below: Damascus Fiber Arts School, "Bugs: All Dressed Up" 

About half of the 219 entries are in one of  the 10 group challenges, and there is a description of each group hanging on or next to their panel. Unfortunately you may not be able to read the descriptions in these photos, so if you want to know more, I recommend purchasing the catalog.

Left: Wall 2: Christina Rasmussen's tapestry "Learning to Fly"

Tough choice, so many wonderful entries; this tapestry and its title seemed right to go with the description, as for many artists, this is the first show they have entered.

Below: Central Virginia Tapestry Group, "Virginia Blues." (top left) As Catarinas, "Monogram." (bottom left) Spanish Peaks Tapestry Group, "Reflections of John Mendoza" (right)

Below: Las Aranas and Las Tejedoras Tapestry Groups, "Alphabet Soup"

Below: Wednesday Group, "Pear Project" (left) 

Tapestry Artists of Puget Sound (TAPS), "unTAPped" (right)

Left: Seaside Weavers Tapestry Group, "What's My Line?"

What happens when you draw one line, and it divides the tapestry into a white half and a black half?

Left: Individual tapestries. The vertical panels are for the smaller tapestries, and fit on the smaller walls.

So many lovely shades of blue and green, very fitting for the Ocean State: that's the nickname for Rhode Island - actually the complete name is "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations!"

Right: Individual tapestries, including lots of pink and purple, and a variety of textures.

(Remember you can click on the photo to see it larger)

Below: Individual tapestries with handspun/hand-dyed yarns, and other interesting materials.

Left: Small tapestries in lovely earth tones. 

The tapestry on the bottom right, "Still Life with Fruit #2," by Beverly Muir, is a shaped tapestry mounted on a black frame.

Below: Weavers Guild of Greater Baltimore, "Titled/Unjuried."

This tapestries are inspired by book titles. I wonder if you can guess any of them?

Below: TWiNE (Tapestry Weavers in New England), "All Over New England"

Below: Individual Entries. The panel on the bottom left includes silkworm cocoons and a plastic Barbie doll leg.

Below: Individual Entries. Linda Whiting's "Crayon Sheep" in the middle of the top panel sets the tone for the vibrant colors on this wall. Pamela Palma's "Enaray" in the lower middle of the right panel includes shredded currency ($100 bills?) and strips of plastic Target shopping bags.

Left: Individual entries, some quite small. There is now a DO NOT TOUCH sign on the left, but I forgot to stick it on until after I took the photo.

Below: Individual entries. This is the end wall at the other entrance to the building. I love how these earthy reds all go together, and set off the neutral black/gray/white below. The little bits of green add a nice accent to the whole grouping.

Below: a photo showing the layout of the walls. This is only half of the gallery, and you can't see all the walls as some are behind others. There are a total of 14 walls. Behind these free standing carpet walls are very tall windows, so there is beautiful natural light. Don't worry, no direct sun, as the street outside is very narrow.

Below: the other half of the gallery