Tag Archives: 2019 Rijswijk Textile Biennial

2019 Rijswijk Textile Biennial

How wonderful to have had the privilege of traveling to Rijswijk, Netherlands last week to view the 2019 Textile Biennial at Museum Rijswijk. Since then, knowing I’d want to recap the experience here, I’ve been trying to think how best to describe the exhibit. Words just don’t seem to adequately convey its full impact and impressive scope, so pictures will have to do.

Museum Rijswijk Note the bike parked to the left of the entrance, complete with front-end child carrier…a ubiquitous sight.

The museum is housed in a beautiful c.1790 mansion, saved and restored by the town of Rijswijk after realizing that the 1950s’ eye to modernization, which resulted in the wholesale demolition of many historic buildings, may have taken things a step too far. A beautiful modern annex was added in 2012.
The museum’s permanent collection consists of paintings, drawings, and prints by Rijswijk artists, dating from the 17th century to the present.

The biennial was woven throughout the museum, at times integrating pieces from the exhibit alongside work from the permanent collection, as the photo above illustrates.

I am quite fond of winter imagery, so was pleased to find Alone Together and Respite nestled, so to speak, in the snow.

Espresso & Peanut Butter between bouquets

Laurence James Bailey’s work appears in the center panel

An upstairs gallery

Mirjam Kruisselbrink, foreground; Kata Unger, left; Katherine Entis, right

My fourth piece, Poseidon’s Garden

Mirjam Kruisselbrink, foreground/left; Elizabeth Fram, center; David B. Smith, right

Josefina Concha

Josefina Concha again. I was so taken with her work that I had to share another of her installations.

Kayla Mattes

Kristine Fornes

Ana Teresa Barboza

Anna Astapova

Lawrence James Bailey

Lia de Jonghe

Monika Supé

Mark Newport

Noora Schroderus

Nigel Cheney, far left; Paul Yore, middle left; Ana Astapova, middle right; Marianne Thoermer, far right; Higi Jung, foreground

Kata Unger, left; Max Colby on pedestal; Bhakti Ziek, right

A head-on shot of Bhakti’s lovely series. It was such a treat that there were two of us from Vermont in this show.

Higi Jung

Max Colby

Nigel Cheney

Paula do Prado

Paul Yore

Each artist had numerous pieces in the show. I’ve done my best to see that everyone is represented at least once in these photos. But that said, these images barely scratch the surface of the impressive whole. What an honor it was to have been included.

The lovely catalog includes an essay on each artist accompanied with photos of their work

Engaging With The Ancestors

I’ve been thinking lately about how summer should be a time that follows a different rhythm. If not slower, then it should at least be restorative — a chance to enjoy the extra daylight hours and the delight of walking out the door unfettered by the extra layers we have to cope with much of the rest of the year (not counting, of course, the long sleeves and netted hood I’ve been wearing in the garden as defense against this year’s burgeoning black fly population). Beyond that, and perhaps more importantly, summer should be a time to keep computer work to a minimum, which is what this post is really about.

The beginnings of a new piece, all tied, knotted, and ready to dye

With that in mind, bear with me as I sort through things over the next weeks. The blog and I will still be here each Friday, but I am going to try to write less — an effort to free myself from the laborious editing and polishing that consume so much time. Hopefully that will lead to gaining more hours for the actual stitching and drawing I write about. It will be a way to cut myself some much-needed slack while still sharing what’s going on behind the scenes in my studio, what’s on my mind, and the various miscellanea I run into that I think will interest and, hopefully, inspire you.

As you can see compared to the seam ripper, this is a small piece – the fabric is only 15 x 15 inches. Even so, it took me almost 3 hours to sew and knot the threads. The dye process, however, only took a mere 20 minutes.

I look forward to, and encourage, your continuing comments and emails when something you see here resonates with you. And please let me know how you switch gears to allow for extra elbow room during the summer months – I welcome new ideas.

❖

Apologies to those of you who are also on my general art mailing list; this will be something of a repeat…

Carefully snipping the knots and removing the threads is sticky and laborious business, taking another hour to accomplish. But the thrill of revealing the pattern makes it all worth it.

I was really happy to receive a link this week to the museum-produced trailer for the 2019 Rijswijk Textile Biennial. It has made me all the more excited to go see the show in person this fall. I’m also looking forward to seeing the illustrated catalog of the show, written by Frank van der Ploeg.

Searching the web, I was gratified to find that Textile Forum blog has written about the exhibit, using one of my images, among others, to illustrate the article. Notice of the show was also picked up by TextileCurator.com

The experiment this time was to break the frame down into smaller sections – a pattern within a pattern, so to speak. Also, I wanted to try this arched shape, rather than keeping all lines straight and square.

For those of you who remember Textile Forum as a print magazine, publication was halted at the end of 2013. Since then the former publisher, Beatrijs Sterk, has continued to “report on themes of textile creation, education and textile cultural heritage via (the) blog, addressing all those interested in textile culture”.

If you are looking for in further avenues to learn about the world of textile art, Textile Forum blog, TextileCurator.com , and Textile Is More! are all sites that look to be fruitful resources. Another site I would love to be able to read is Textiel Plus, but unfortunately it appears to only be published in Dutch.

The finished size of this piece will be about 10 x 10 inches. While it’s interesting to see how the dye interacts with the outer edges of the pattern, I prefer cropping the pattern with clean edges along the perimeter, the way they will appear once the finished piece is stretched and framed.

One final resource is The Woven Road – another site learned about through Instagram. What caught my eye was a quote that was attributed to The Woven Road, and which seems a suitable sentiment to sign off with.

“When we engage in fiber arts, we are creating something, but we’re also participating in historic traditions tens of thousands of years old. You are not only making art for your soul and for future generations, you are embodying the work of our ancestors.”

Refuge

Last weekend I attended a symposium named “Art Meets History” at The Rokeby Museum. Overall, I enjoyed the discussions that evolved as the day progressed, but I left feeling a bit lukewarm about how well the presenters met the mark in aiding us to draw connections between our individual art practices and history.

Clementines ©2019 Elizabeth Fram, 8.5 x 11 inches, Ink and watercolor on paper In an effort to add color to my sketchbooks I am experimenting with adding it in a limited way. I have been trying out a new sketchbook that I’m quite pleased with: 5.5 x 8.5 Stillman & Birn Beta Series, soft cover mixed media sketchbook with extra heavyweight, archival, white, cold press paper. I got it from my local art supply store, but Dick Blick also carries them.

But that isn’t the subject I’ve been mulling over this week. It’s not unusual to go to an event expecting one thing and to come away having gleaned something completely different. And that in itself can be worthwhile.

For me, the most important moment of the day was when another of the participants shared an experience of personal affront and crisis that was so overwhelming she couldn’t keep it to herself. It is not my story to share, but it led to a discussion and exploration of ways that art, as a form of expression and protest, can be a conduit for bringing awareness, catharsis, and perhaps even change.

These aren’t easy times and there are any number of worthy issues to dominate our consciousness, all meriting attention and consideration. Art provides one of the most salient platforms for bringing awareness and for expressing the myriad feelings and ideas that accompany thorny topics.

Vermonters are not shy about expressing their opinions and concerns; there is excellent work being made here that carries an underlying message — whether about the environment, our current political climate, or any other of a host of important issues. I often find myself feeling a bit out of step as I don’t approach my work with a cause to champion; my considerations are more home-centric and lean toward academic formalities.

My pieces celebrate day-to-day, run-of-the-mill household observations that often go unnoticed in the bustle of cellphones and busy schedules. Yet it is just such repetitive everyday sights which bring me (and I hope my viewers) pleasure and even comfort, offering a sense of constancy amid the tumult and distress that accompanies the unrelenting barrage of news.

Protest is important yet there should also be room in our consciousness for quiet statements that give us hope, reminding us of the good that surrounds us each day. We need to honor the moments that bring joy via their simplicity and their universality. We need refuge.

So, in a world of causes and points to be made, perhaps my simple tablescapes and dog shadows have more to contribute than I thought.

❖

This weekend marks the opening of the 2019 Rijswijk Textile Biennial which runs from June 18 to October 6th.

RTB Poster

I am so excited that four of my pieces (shown below) were selected to be part of the exhibit alongside the work of 21 other artists from across the world.

Artist list

While scheduling prevents my making it to the opening, I’m looking forward to getting to the exhibit this fall. Should you be traveling to The Netherlands before October 6th, please do consider a trip to the Rijswijk Museum, only 3.5 miles from The Hague.