San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles Spotlight

February 21, 2018

Surface Design Association is having our annual International Juried Members exhibition, The Art of Labor, in partnership with the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles (SJMQT) in San Jose, CA. The exhibition runs July 22–October 14, 2018 and we are very excited to be partnering with such an amazing organization. This article spotlights three recent exhibitions from the SJMQT—highlighting the conceptual and technical scope of the work they feature.

A Geographical Journey: The Paul J. Smith Textile Collection

Paul J. Smith (The Director Emeritus of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York) has been involved with craft and design since the 1950s and is well known for his innovative curatorial and exhibition programming in the American Studio Craft Movement. During his career, Smith also collected traditional and ethnographic textiles from Asia, Central and South America, and Africa. Smith’s personal textile collection, never before exhibited, showcases the beauty of textile traditions worldwide. On display through April 15, 2018.

Artist Unknown Phulkari, Punjab, silk embroidery thread, cotton, hand embroidery.

Artist Unknown Phulkari, Punjab, silk embroidery thread, cotton, hand embroidery.

Without a Net: Susan Else

Each of Susan Else’s figurative sculptures tells a story, capturing the range of human emotions, routines, dreams and realities. In Without a Net, Else presents an old-fashioned circus and sideshow, using three-dimensional figures to narrate the dark underbelly of the circus. Ten circus-themed pieces, many made specifically for this exhibition, incorporate sound, light and motion, to create alternative universe that is full of contradictions. The power and beauty of the patterned cloth surfaces play off the form and content of the work, and the result is a dynamic seesaw of meanings and possibilities. On display through April 15, 2018.

Susan Else Clocking Out 2016, collaged, quilted cloth, armature, zipper, 16″ x 11″ x 21″.

Susan Else The Human Spectacle 2018, collage, quilted cloth, armature, motorized, lights, revolving shadows, 40″ x 42″ x 42″.

Talismanic Tresses: Vien Le Wood

Award-winning British textile artist and designer, Vien Le Wood is the founder of Gold Spink Studio, a fashion embellishment concept house based in Brooklyn, New York. Le Wood’s exhibition, Talismanic Tresses, is based on her view of human hair which she believes acts as a conductor to our higher consciousness and intuition. In this exhibition she intimately crafted, stitch-by-stitch, piece-by-piece, and layer-by-layer the act of embellishment with an artistic expression. Le Wood believes that in the process of being gifted precious hair and buying discarded hair, an energy exchange is created that sends the message of mortality. On display through April 15, 2018.

Vien Le Wood Talismanic Tresses 2017, staples, copper, natural dyed mohair yarn, tie dyed, screen-printed human hair.

IMPORTANT DATES:

January 8–April 6, 2018: Entries submitted through CaFE
May 1, 2018: Notification of acceptance
July 1, 2018: Selected artwork due to SJMQT
July 22, 2018: Opening reception
October 14, 2018: Exhibition closes
November 14, 2018: All work received by artists

APPLY HERE: The Art of Labor Call