Embroidery as Art

Workshop at Fowler Museum UCLA

2012-01-19T15:11:00.003-06:00

photo : Kenneth B. Gall

The Fowler Museum of Art at UCLA has invited me to teach an embroidery workshop in conjunction with the upcoming exhibition: Order and Disorder: Alighiero Boetti by Afghan Women. Please come not just to learn embroidery, but to learn about the incredible work of this Italian conceptual artist and his collaboration with Afghan needleworkers.

Visit Needlework Revolution: Embroidery Workshop with Jenny Hart for full details and to sign up (seats are limited to twenty).

Allover Needlepoint

2011-12-09T10:37:00.003-06:00

Fawn by Frédérique Morrel

Wonderful. Animals with salvaged needlepoint hides by Frédérique Morrel. Some of her work is currently on display in the windows at Bergdorf Goodman in NYC.

Also making creative re-use of the abundance of needlepoint is Lindsten Form Studio:

Embroidery Chairs by Lindsten Form Studio

If you're wondering: Is this embroidery, needlepoint or tapestry? I explain here.

Veine Magazine - France

2011-12-06T10:36:00.005-06:00

My work and an accompanying interview are in the current issue of Veine Magazine (France). This is an online magazine that also features work by Iris Van Herpen, Kimiko Yoshida, Bartholot and Kate MccGuire. Interviews are in French and English. (I didn't realize my interview in French was going to be translated back into English, which made for an interesting read.)

Also, this micro interview for X/I - Ten Words One Shot (Germany).

Giant Embroidery Diagram 1 - Feather Stitch

2011-11-18T13:05:00.004-06:00

(click to enlarge)

Working on oversized embroidery diagrams. This is a feather stitch.

Eric Beltz - Recrafting History (Group Show)

2011-10-19T12:18:00.003-05:00

Sampler in graphite by Eric Beltz. Wonderful. Eric's bio says he teaches the "lost art of drawing" at UCSB and his most recent work recreates the look of a cross-stitched samplers. I really like that he's not drawing the stitches themselves but pixel-like boxes of varying shades.

This work is part of an upcoming group show:

Recrafting History
history, nostalgia & craft in the
American Memory
curated by Ellen Caldwell

Eric Beltz – Jen Pack – Karen Spector
Frohawk Two Feathers – Stephanie Washburn

October 29 - December 22, 2011
@ Taylor de Cordoba

(Thank you Ellen, for the invite to this show!)

Livefeed of Smithsonian Talk

2011-09-30T22:30:00.004-05:00

Here's a link to the livestream video of my keynote talk at the Smithsonian American Art Museum for Hello Etsy on September 18th. The opening keynote earlier that day was given by Dr. John Maeda, artist and President of RISD. His talk was fascinating.

Full Mano

2011-09-22T09:32:00.003-05:00

Fellow embroiderer and French artist Full Mano has a show opening tonight at the Krash Bar in Paris. Of course -just a week after I left. Bien que ce soit un cruise bar, j'y aurais allée bien volontiers! Bon vernissage et bisous!

Full Mano on Facebook

Previously on EAA:
Full Mano - Sur le Fil
Full Mano - Encore

Hong Chun Zhang

2011-09-21T11:25:00.008-05:00

"Twin Spirits"#1 (2002)
4ft x 10ft (each)
charcoal on paper

This past weekend, I spoke at Hello Etsy's satellite event in Washington D.C. at The Smithsonian American Art Museum / National Portrait Gallery.

When I had a moment to slip away, I walked through the permanent collection and also checked out the current exhibition Portraiture Now: Asian American Portraits of Encounter. I was absolutely blown away by the monumental work of Hong Chung Zhang.

Vanités Sacrées

2011-09-13T09:28:00.001-05:00

(click for large view)

My first solo show in Paris, Vanités Sacrées, opened at Galerie LJ on September 1st along with a concurrently running solo show by Korean artist, Eun-Mi Oh.

(photo via Art In The Box)
Her prints (which were all series of one) were my favorites.

I only managed to click off a few photos before the evening turned into a blur. My favorite part was having an elderly couple from Spain corner me for an impassioned discussion about Mormon hairstyles:

(click for large view)

About the work (from the gallery’s website):

"Show me how you wear your hair, and I will tell you to whom you pray."

Twenty graphite and colored pencil drawings by Jenny Hart. These works depict “subjects that cover their heads or fashion their hair for religious reasons. Specifically not when only done as decoration for special religious ceremonies, but when worn as part of daily life and every day dress.” Braids, wigs, veils, chador, sheitel, curled sideburns and a non-exhaustive variety of religious stylings reflect a curiosity by the artist for the subject, without criticism or judgement. Fascinated by the different techniques of embroidery, the other principal medium of Hart’s work, she says she loves to draw embroidery stitches and is equally fascinated with their execution as they parallel the knotting, weaving and embellishment that hair can also take on.

All drawings can be seen online here. Contact Adeline Jeudy info@galerielj.com for more information. Remaining works will go on to the Drawing Now salon at the Louvre in spring 2012.

Vanités Sacrées (solo show)
@ Galerie LJ, Paris, France
opens: Sept 1 until *Oct 18 2011
*the exhibition will be closed Sept 27 - Oct 10
for private functions during Paris fashion week

Paris Show - Drawing Preview

2011-08-19T18:02:00.005-05:00

details - click for larger view

This past month, blogging on Embroidery As Art took a back seat while I finalized the move of Sublime Stitching (and the setup of my studio) to Los Angeles. Things are settling in and I'm glad to get back to creative work. Here's a preview from the twenty drawings I've been working on for over a year.

This series of drawings are for a solo show at Galerie LJ in Paris that opens September 1. (Once the show opens, all drawings will be viewable online and I'll disclose the theme and subject then.) For now, just a preview while I enjoy a brief break between major projects.

Nicola Ginzel

2011-06-22T09:22:00.003-05:00

Found objects, trash, ephemera, discarded receipts, cardboard boxes...embroidered, embellished and made precious by Nicola Ginzel.

(Thanks, Becky!)

Works STOLEN From Toronto Exhibition

2011-06-07T10:23:00.008-05:00

STOLEN WORK

Two of my most recent works (St. John the Baptist and Lou Reed as Christ) were stolen from The Drake Hotel in Toronto following the close of the exhibition Wrap Your Head Around This. Attempts to retrieve the works have been fruitless, so I am now posting about it. Please share this blog post to spread awareness that if these works surface, they were stolen.

The return of these works will be welcomed with no questions asked.
Email: jenny [ at ] jennyhart.net

Richard Saja - Sideshow!

2011-05-10T10:42:00.008-05:00

The last time I contacted Richard Saja the response was something like "Can't talk now. Working on new line of fabric." That was exciting to hear, so I hung back, waiting to find out what he was working on.

The first time I came across Richard's work was in 2005 at The Future Perfect in Brooklyn. Their successful collaboration continues, and I found out today that he is releasing his new fabric line this weekend:

(available in yardage)

Debut of Richard Saja's SIDESHOW! Toile
@ The Future Perfect
55 Great Jones Street, NYC
ICFF Opening Party
Saturday, May 14th, 7-10pm

Don't miss the many incarnation of his own fabric:

Sideshow! Toile - Embroidered & Sideshow! - Woven. Congratulations, Richard!

Stephen Sollins

2011-04-28T17:35:00.003-05:00

The embroidery work of artist Stephen Sollins is new to me. He works in numerous media, but I missed seeing this series of needlework when it was exhibited in 2003. Sollins "unworked" cross-stitch samplers, and then re-worked the ground fabric in the same number of stitches and colors as the original composition (a ghostly outline remains), reducing the work down to condensed blocks of color.

found via dearada

Inge Jacobsen

2011-04-21T15:26:00.005-05:00

A reader sent in a link to work by Inge Jacobsen. I especially love that she includes images of the backs of her work (click the images above to see in larger detail). Cross-stitching over existing photographs gives the work a depth that the stitching alone wouldn't convey. I love the look it gives, which is very similar to those by Cécile Jarsaillon who works in a similar fashion, to great effect.

Inge is a student in her final year of studying Fine Art Photography at Kingston University, London and her principle focus is on photography. However, she's recently turned to stitching over magazine advertisements and covers. From her statement:

The work I am currently making is an intervention into found images through embroidery, cutting, and collaging. The images I use are from women’s high fashion magazines and pornographic images found on the internet. These make up the basis of most of my work although I am starting to explore newspaper imagery as well. My main concern as an artist is how one responds to the mass of imagery in the world. Altering these is central to a lot of my work.

Her blog entries offer some insight into her thoughts (and misgivings) about stitching over photos that are interesting.

Link (Thanks, Alexandra!)

Also see:
Lauren DiCioccio
Cécile Jarsaillon
Maurizio Anzeri

WIP - Drawing

2011-04-16T15:55:00.001-05:00

Continued drawings for upcoming Paris show. (click image for larger version)

Link

Jennifer Hunold

2011-04-02T14:02:00.005-05:00

Jennifer Hunhold recently sent in an email to let me know that she's curating a show at Collar Works Gallery and has posted a call for entries on her website. But, I spent most of my time looking at her own work, which I really enjoyed. Especially this piece above, along with her other very delicate and ephemeral works such as embroidering on leaves or delicate facial tissue:

Her Dream House Floor Plan works are also fantastic.

40 under 40: Craft Futures - Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

2011-03-26T13:12:00.007-05:00

All the Girls Wept Tears of Pure Love / St. John the Baptist (Jordan Lee), 2009

hand embroidery and sequins on cotton, 18" x 20" - click to enlarge

This past week, the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum announced the selection of artists for an exhibition honoring the upcoming anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, which opened in 1972.

40 under 40: Craft Futures
July 20, 2012 - February 3, 2013

40 under 40: Craft Futures is is presented in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery. Nicholas R. Bell, curator at the museum’s Renwick Gallery, selected the artists and is organizing the exhibition. The museum intends to acquire works by every artist in the exhibition for the permanent collection to mark the anniversary. The artists included in the exhibition originate from every region of the United States and five countries.
The exhibition investigates evolving notions of craft within traditional media such as ceramics and metalwork, as well as in fields as varied as sculpture, industrial design, installation art, fashion design, sustainable manufacturing, and mathematics. The range of disciplines represented illustrates new avenues for the handmade in contemporary culture.

The exhibition will tour nationally after it closes in Washington, D.C. A catalogue is forthcoming.

Selected Artists:
Vivian Beer, b. 1977
Melanie Bilenker, b. 1978
Jeffrey Clancy, b. 1976
Dave Cole, b. 1975
Cristina Córdova , b. 1976
Gabriel Craig, b. 1983
Jennifer Crupi, b. 1973
Erik Demaine, b. 1981
Joshua DeMonte, b. 1984
Brian Dettmer, b. 1974
Nick Dong, b. 1973
Joseph Foster Ellis, b. 1984
Jeff Garner, b. 1978
Theaster Gates, b. 1975
Sabrina Gschwandtner, b. 1977
Jenny Hart, b. 1972
Sergey Jivetin, b. 1977
Lauren Kalman, b. 1980
Lara Knutson, b. 1974
Stephanie Liner, b. 1978
Marc Maiorana, b. 1978
Sebastian Martorana, b. 1981
Christy Matson, b. 1979
Cat Mazza, b. 1977
Daniel Michalik, b. 1972
Matt Moulthrop, b. 1977
Christy Oates, b. 1980
Olek, b. 1978
Andy Paiko, b. 1977
Mia Pearlman, b. 1974
Lacey Jane Roberts, b. 1980
Laurel Roth, b. 1973
Shawn Smith, b. 1972
Jen Stark, b. 1983
Matthew Szösz, b. 1974
Uhuru (Jason Horvath, b. 1978 and William Hilgendorf, b. 1979)
Jamin Uticone, b. 1975
Anna Von Mertens, b. 1973
Stacey Lee Webber, b. 1982
Bohyun Yoon, b. 1976

I have long admired the work of many of the artists included, especially Melanie Bilenker, Dave Cole, and Olek. I'm thrilled beyond belief to be included. The work I'm unfamiliar with is a joy to explore and I'll be blogging more about those artists and information related to the exhibition as it approaches.

More information on the show
Slideshow of examples of work by each artist

Lace Portrait - Penny Nickels

2011-03-24T11:04:00.002-05:00

Johnny Mumbles by Penny Nickels
Hand-worked lace - 9" x 11"

Hand-worked lace amazes me. I love Penny's portrait of her brother. I love his beard. I love his gaze. He looks like a mountain.

Link

On D+R: Lace Fence

Woman Wearing Sheitel

2011-03-23T15:56:00.003-05:00

Woman Wearing Sheitel (detail) - click to enlarge

I need to do about a drawing a week. Here's a detail of the latest one for my show in September at Galerie LJ. All of the portraits I'm doing (around twenty in all) are depictions of religious hairstyles or headdress.

Half an Inch of Chain Stitches

2011-03-22T16:09:00.002-05:00

One half-inch of chain stitches, one single strand of cotton floss. Ten links. As small as I could make them, this time.

Orly Cogan & Mary Jo Matsumoto Collab

2011-03-11T14:50:00.004-06:00

dress by Mary Jo Matsumoto

Mary Jo Matsumoto is debuting a collection of art-inspired dresses at at The Stephen Cohen Gallery on Thursday, March 17, from 6-9pm during LA Fashion Week. She designed this dress with fabric printed from Orly Cogan's art piece titled "Searching For My Prince". I don't know what other artist-inspired works are included in her collection, but I'm intrigued.

WIP - Drawing

2011-03-08T22:07:00.001-06:00

Continued drawings for upcoming Paris show.

Link

Woven Fishing Nets

2011-03-06T16:16:00.003-06:00

Campaign for Shinmura Fisheries by Shinmura Design Office, Japan.

Link

also see: Fence Embroidery

Frances Goodman

2011-03-04T19:47:00.004-06:00

South African artist Frances Goodman has an entire series of hooped embroideries called "Toilet Grafitti". This one that looks like a chisel marker tag is my favorite.

Link