Inside the Schick's fiber art exhibit
The Schick Art Gallery at Skidmore College is currently presenting "Hiroko Ote and Stef Kreymborg: Fiber Art from Japan and the Netherlands." Skidmore Associate Professor Sang-Wook Lee, who teaches fiber arts, curated the show.
“This is a rare opportunity for students — and the community — to see fiber art by contemporary artists from outside the United States," Lee said. "Ote and Kreymborg are both true makers. They have years of experience with a wide range of fiber processes, and they create their own work – they don’t have a team of assistants in their studios.”
Hiroko Ote blends elements from contemporary and traditional Japanese culture in her weaving, often incorporating photographic imagery or calligraphic text. Much of Ote’s work — sometimes brightly colored and other times subtle; sometimes diaphanous and other times opaque and textured — is suspended from the gallery ceiling, creating a mesmerizing “forest” of fibers.
Affected by phenomena as diverse as ridges in sand, flocks of birds, stacks of folded linen and traffic patterns, Dutch artist Stef Kreymborg often creates her work through extensive duplication of a single element, using rhythm, structure and order as guiding principles. Recently, her work has included an element of community participation. Her “Wailing Wall of Lonely Socks,” a monumental wall piece made up of thousands of single socks donated via public outreach, is on view, amongst other pieces.
Both artists were in residence at Skidmore the opening week of the exhibit, working with fiber arts students.
The show runs until April 22, 2019. Schick hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
