Mining Mending: rethink, reuse, revive
Textile Center welcomes Mining Mending: reuse, rethink, revive – a series of exhibitions and supporting programs that focus on the contemporary use of mending and repurposed materials as the conceptual and technical basis for artistic practice.
Mining Mending features the work of contemporary artists Rachel Breen, Brooks Harris Stevens, Lisa Kokin, Amy Meissner, Mark Newport, Celia Pym, Catherine Reinhart, Winnie van der Rijn, and The Collective Mending Sessions and highlights the themes of mending as the conceptual and technical basis for their artistic practices. Materials are mined for reuse and repurposed; materials are dismantled and objectified; holes are both accidental and intentional, some left, some repaired; cloth acts like skin, to be cut or torn; stitches act to heal; scars remain; power is questioned; things are (re)made to live another day, often to serve another purpose.
Resurgence features the work of Asif Shaikh and his studio, from Ahmedabad, India. Shaikh's incredible embroideries and research create a bridge between East and West, old and new. His intricate and labor intensive artisan stitching “mends” a historic gap in Indian craft through his revival of Mughal (Court) embroidery. This exhibition is on view in our Mary Giles Gallery through June 7.
Vintage Kantha brings together a collection of vintage kantha quilts from West Bengal, created through layers of repurposed fabric sewn together using a small straight running stitch. These works are on loan from Cultural Cloth in Maiden Rock, WI, and presented in our Library Gallery, supported by a collection of books and research on the subject, through July 22.
Art Speaks conversations include Judy Frater on Folk Embroideries of Kutch (India), May 18 at 12 pm, and Asif Shaikh on his Resurgence exhibition, on June 1 at 11 am. Collective Mending Sessions will be hosting two free Community Mending Workshops on June 7 from 1 – 4 pm and 6 – 9 pm.
Special related workshops include jogakbo stitching, sashiko stitching, freeform embroidery, and mending for knits. Guest Teaching Workshops feature Gasali Onireke Adeyamo; Tsuyo Onodera and Maki Azawa; Winnie van der Rijn; and Brooks Harris Stevens in the coming months.
To register for these special activities and for more information, specific dates and additional events, see the Textile Center website at textilecentermn.org/mining-mending.
Gallery Hours
Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm
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