Focus on Fibers: Selections from the Textile Center of Minneapolis

Friday, January 20, 2012 – 6:30 pm

The Anderson Center is pleased to present the traveling exhibition Focus on Fibers: Selections from the Textile Center of Minneapolis. Free and open to the public, the evening will begin with a reception for the artists at 6:30 p.m. followed by the exhibition opening at 7:30 p.m. in the Center's Main Gallery.

Focus on Fibers highlights the work of fourteen of the finest artists of the Textile Center, one of the premier centers for the textile arts in the United States. From traditional weaving and beading techniques to abstract sculptures and duct tape dresses, the exhibition spans the gamut of form and content.

"This is an exhibition bursting with brilliance and originality, certainly one of the finest we have ever shown at the Anderson Center," said executive director Robert Hedin. "It is at once diverse and exuberant and, above all, a testament to one of the most exciting, innovative art forms being practiced today."

Like most crafts such as pottery, glass, and jewelry, fibers have long been considered peasants in the art world. In part because fibers play such vital roles in our everyday lives, from our undergarments to our table linens, the fiber arts can at first appear mundane, too utilitarian or decorative in their purposes. In the last several decades, however, they have become more expansive and expressive and have achieved international significance in the world of art.

Among other things, Focus on Fibers examines the questions: Is it art or craft? What is the line between art and craft? Such questions are immediately answered upon viewing the exhibition. The show offers a vast array of beauty in which the traditional lines between art and craft are erased, and viewers are left with the full expanse of the creative terrain.

There is Susan Bradley's Cranes at Sunset, for example, a magnificent Japanese silk wedding kimono. Or Diane Fitzgerald's Amazon Collar, made of exquisite bird feathers and colored beads. Or Cayenne by Nancy MacKenzie, a fiery, one of a kind cocktail dress created out of onion bags, baling twine and thread. And much, much more.

"The Anderson Center is the last of this show's many stops throughout Minnesota." "We are very excited to present this traveling exhibition in Red Wing," said Hedin.

Focus on Fibers is made possible in part through grants from the Jones Family Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Minnesota State Arts Board, Minnesota Cultural Heritage and Legacy Fund, Target, and Xcel Energy.

"Focus on Fibers: Selections from the Textile Center" curated by Erica Spitzer Rasmussen and loaned by Textile Center, 3000 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414, www.textilecentermn.org

Participants include:

Susan Bradley

Brenna Busse

Nancy Eha

Diane Fitzgerald

Nancy Gipple

Carolyn Halliday

Tim Harding

Candy Kuehn

Laura Leonard

Nancy MacKenzie

Ruth Mordy

Kelly Marshall

Carly Stipe

Tress Sularz

For more information regarding Anderson Center Events, Classes and Retreats, please call 651-388-2009 or email: info@andersoncenter.org