Telling Tails: Woven Narrative Textiles: Kathy Schicker and Joe Lewis April 2010

 

2010 saw my first exhibition in Toronto since 2000. Telling Tails: Woven Narrative Textiles a two person show with British textile designer and jacquard weaver Kathy Schicker whom I had met at the Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles around 2004.

This time gap may seem a rather large, but my reality is that in oder to do jacquard work i am dependent on accessing looms that that belong to some one else or are housed in an institution like the Montreal Centre of Contemporary Textiles. Since I desire to work rather exclusively with a Jacquard Loom to create new image based woven textiles I am restricted by geography and accessible time . I have work at the Montreal Centre for Contemporary Textiles for limited time periods almost every one of the past 10 years to produce what was shown in Telling Tails

“Blue Genes” 2003, 68 cm x 1.05 meter (27”h X 40” w) Warp: cotton, weft: 1 shuttle, cotton and acetate

Gallery view Sisters by Kathy Schicker on left 3 Guy Hanging around by me on right

The exhibition was plan to coincide with American weaver Lia Cook's exhibition Faces and Mazes which open at the Textile Museum of Canada the day before our opening on April 10. It was an opportunity for both Kathy and I to have our work seen be and artist who is in the top of our medium. It was also an opportunity for a Toronto audience to see three distinct approaches and use of the same computer assist weaving technology. The exhibition was reasonably attended and the media coverage has been local provincial and international.

Collaged view into Berkeley Castle / Gallery @2 from the front door

Telling Tails: Woven Narrative Textiles can be seen on line POPLAR Gallery (it is currently moved to the archive)

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Coverage of the exhibition

Photo of Joe Lewis by Christopher Jones. Live With Culture

Joe Lewis rides the Jacquard Wave by Christoffer Jones, Live With Culture April 8 2010

Telling Tales, Textile Forum 2/2010 June pg.10

Fibre Focus Autumn 2010, Volume 53, Number 3

"Beyond the Studio, Joe Lewis: Holding the Torch High. by Graham McCracken pg. 29

Joe Lewis Jacquard Weaver by Graham McCracken: http://www.ohs.on.ca/members/fibre-focus-magazine/ is a download from the website,

Fibre Focus is the magazine of the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners and is published 4 times a year in March, June, September, and December.

 Lia, Kathy and me in front of Kathy's "Sisters" piece at the opening of "Telling Tales: Narrative Woven Textiles by Joe Lewis and Kathy Schicker"

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