Soft Answer
@ SAIC Washington Gallery
Feb 26 - Mar 6, 2024
soft answer brings together recent work from Tali Halpern, Madison Nelson, and Brianna Perry, who all critically investigate the intersection of fiber and painting. Saturation and self-fashioning are critical to the artists’ construction (and deconstruction) of the picture plane, with each artist employing stylized and distorted colors to communicate their subjectivities. Depictions of memory, personal narratives, and familial histories acknowledge the past as always in transformation. Through traditional textile and surface design processes, including weaving, quilting, dyeing, and screen printing, the artists translate digital and analog imagery, repurposing the traditionally white masculine history of painting to their ends.
Photography by Mikey Mosher
“bondage of self / yearning for former ignorance” 2024. 52x42 in. handwoven on TC2, cotton, lurex, acrylic, wool, embroidery, rhinestone, beads, jewellery and mom’s unfinished hand-knit sweaters. Based on collaboration with Jane Serenska and Stephanie Jensen.
“gr8ful” 2024. 48 x 41 in. handwoven on TC2, cotton, paint, wool, piercings and studs.
“anxious avoidant trap” 2024. 52x59 in. handwoven fabrics on a TC2 and floor loom, cotton, lurex, thread, plastic grommets and paint.
