Hull Traders –

Open for business from 1957 – 1980 Hull Traders (as I’ve learned this evening) was a British textile company that plumbed the talents of a wide range of artists to create graphic, colorful patterns epitomizing a ’60s-era visual aesthetic.  The pattern above was designed by two Hull contributing artists, Ivon and John Hitchens.

A traveling exhibition on Hull Traders and its artistic directer Shirley Craven is currently underway in England; to read more about the company and the show click here.

– And for a really wonderful website featuring post-war British textiles from the 1940’s – 1970’s visit the gallery of Francesca Galloway, here. I’ll definitely be exploring her site more thoroughly in coming days.

Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann –

Several works by the Art Deco artist and designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann are being auctioned at Christie’s this Thursday (11/26) in Paris. Among the pieces is this 98″ round Ruhlmann carpet (circa 1930), with a bidding estimate of 60k – 90k.

Polly Apfelbaum, via Joanne Mattera –

Segueing from my previous post, artist Joanne Mattera’s 10/26/09 blog entry offers an interesting commentary on the limitations and implications of defining artists within subcategories — like “fiber artist”. Her entry also includes examples of  several artists-who-happen-to-work-with-textiles-as-a-medium, including Polly Apfelbaum. A detail from her piece “Funkytown” is shown above.

Debra Smith –

Debra Smith uses vintage textiles to create compositions that are sewn and quilted to collage-like effect. By framing her pieces for the wall she also helps blur the art/craft distinction that often leaves fabrics in a lesser camp.

If you like Smith you might also appreciate the work of Leah Evans.

Barbara Wisnoski –

Barbara Wisnoski’s pieces (better viewed in larger scale on her website) make a wonderful bridge between notions of craft and abstract art. On the one hand her work is aggressively organic, tactile and handmade but the overall effect is something more ethereal. Here’s an excerpt from her artist’s statement:

I am interested in the relationship between texture and time. The process of building a piece, whereby a fabric loses its singular quality and becomes part of the whole, reminds me of how time washes a harmonious patina over objects and memories. The prospect of decay is key to the work: seeing how pieces done long ago have changed over time reminds me that they were made from living fibres and, like us, evolve and deteriorate. Also like us, these pieces become more themselves, therefore more beautiful, with age.

Though very different overall her work reminds me of the quilts of Gee’s Bend, Japanese Boro textiles, and El Anatsui.

Quilt Art & Inge Hueber –

For a concentrated dose of amazing stitch-work visit the website for Quilt Art, a collective of twenty professional quilters from Europe and the United States. German Inge Hueber is among them and her quilt High Tide Low Tide (162 x 178 cm) is pictured above. To see a detailed image of the quilt click here, then place your cursor over the image.

Alberto Levi –

This week’s New York Times review of the current New York International Tribal & Textile Arts Show (through this Sunday / wish I was there) lead me to the Alberto Levi Gallery website — quite a visual feast! The site is full of amazing images of a whole range of interesting textiles, like the 1950’s Berber carpet shown here There are also great contemporary carpets to pine over in the section on contemporary rug art.

Color & Light –

Color & Light, an exhibition on South Asian embroidery at the Rubin Museum of Art is up until May 11th and is really worthwhile if you’re in NYC. The show is full of beautiful pieces designed for domestic / personal use (clothing, floor cloths, coverings for linens and bedding, etc.) as well as more ceremonial items, many intended for use in wedding processions or prescribed for a woman’s dowry. The countless hours needed to produce such works — many of which have an almost mind boggling level of detail and intricacy — stand in strong contrast to the fast paced / instant gratification society so many of us live in today.

P.S. Thank you LeeAnn for encouraging me to check this out!

Leah Evans –

…Some very interesting quilted textile works – many of them map inspired – by Leah Evans.

Via Design Boom.

Joss Graham –

Here’s the image from Joss Graham’s print ad for his upcoming exhibition “Waves of Colour: Lahariya Turbans of Rajasthan” on view at the New York Arts of Pacific Asia show, March 14-18. Yet another example of how Selvedge magazine’s advertisements can be just as enticing as official content.

Plus, a reminder of chevron stripe posts of yore.