April
SLOW ART: Traditional Techniques and Modern Expressions in the Creation of Contemporary Tapestries
With Martin Nannestad Jørgensen Saturday, April 16th, 2016, 10 a.m. Koret Auditorium, de Young Museum
Admission: Free for current members of the Textile Arts Council $5 for students and members of the FAMSF, $10 General Admission “Slow Art” is the working title for a series of textile images which I initiated in 2007. The works were intended to be independent from any site-specific space or environment. They should be able to stand alone as images.
To begin with, I made two basic choices regarding format and technique. The goal was to keep the visual universe open to what would emerge in the process. The series of woven images evolve, expressing inner tensions between chaotic and balanced compositions in which the images are both abrasive and at rest – dynamic yet calm. I challenge the format of the picture by incorporating an imaginary space surrounding it. I experiment with spatial perception and effects of depth, created through the use of multiple layers. Consequently, some of the images are immediately accessible, while in others the viewer gets lost in a three-dimensional illusion. My goal is to eliminate the distance between the image plane and the viewer, thus enabling the experience to be “physical” and visual at once.
My point of departure consists of photographs of random compositions, textures or rhythms that I discover in cities and nature. Some of the photos contain an ambience or idea which captivates me. These photos are reworked to distill a number of visual outputs into a final sketch, which is then transformed into textile. The loom gives me the opportunity to work at a high level of detail, with precise color choices and a tactile presence. Only after several months of work do I see the result as a unified whole. In some of the images, I challenge the soft, inviting character of the textile by creating illusions of steel, glass and reflections. In others, I emphasize a more painterly expression. Close up, the images resemble pixilated print. At a distance, the composition condenses and the image becomes sharply defined.
Martin Nannestad Jørgensen is educated at the workshop of the recognized Danish textile artist Kim Naver. He also joined the workshop of Shizuko Oshiro in Okinawa, Japan for further textile studies. In 1984 he established a workshop in Copenhagen and began to exhibit his works. For a period of twelve years he taught art and design at the Danish School of Design in Copenhagen. Over the past three decades he has realized diverse projects ranging from painting icebergs in Greenland and solo shows at the Danish Design Museum to commissioned art works for Danish state institutions and private companies.
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