11/2023

WOVEN

Works by -
Jennifer Robertson
Emma Fitts
Finn Ferrier
Tia Ansell

C. Gallery
50 Davis Avenue, South Yarra, 3141, Melbourne, VIC

C. Gallery is delighted to announce Woven, an exhibition of recent work by four contemporary fibre artists, which will run from 26 October – 1 December 2023. Woven includes work by Tia Ansell, Finn Ferrier, Emma Fitts and Jennifer Robertson.

The artists of Woven have centred investigation into material at the core of their process and share an innovative approach that captures the intersection of textiles, painting and sculpture. From Tia Ansell’s rigorous and geometric forms to the billowing and ethereal works of Jennifer Robertson, these fibre works both elevate and affirm the familiar materials and processes, and push the boundaries of craft into fine art.

Tia Ansell (b. 1995) is an Wellington-born and Melbourne-based artist, she appears courtesy of Lon Gallery. Working on a countermarch loom in over-painted cotton and silk thread, Ansell creates abstract geographies that playfully tease apart the traditional delineation between substrate and painted surface. Hung simply on the wall, the lack of framing calls attention to the materiality of the fabric and the process of weaving. Drawing on memories of familiar landscapes, the map-like compositions create an abstract yet approachable and organic form.

Finn Ferrier (b. 1981) lives and works in Auckland, New Zealand. For Woven, Ferrier has contributed four recent works from his Wharfware series which began in 2009 as a study on the materiality of rope. Utilising this ordinary material and imagining the handwork of sailors with long idle hours at sea, Ferrier creates fanciful vessels based on a logical progression of decorative knotwork. The vessels resemble cartoonish ceramic relics, creations of pure aesthetic value that explore the tension between traditional forms and the material pliability of rope.

Emma Fitts (b.1979) is a Christchurch-based artist whose mixed-media assemblages are driven by an investigation into materials and allusions to the functional forms and memories of familiar domestic objects and attire as well as local histories and lived experiences of past artistic and political personas. The resulting abstractions of saturated canvas, silk and synthetic mesh hover between and expand the boundaries of sculpture and painting. For Woven, Fitts has created two new works in vivid orange and yellow hues, mixing architecture, textile, painting and sculptural references to offer a fresh and bright look at a loaded history.

Jennifer Robertson (b. 1962) is an English-born Australian artist whose practice is focused on complex hand-woven textile wall artwork and objects. For Woven, Robertson has contributed four recent works, two of which are large-scale wall-mounted textiles that explore the interconnecting natural structure of honeycomb (found in graphene) and incorporate layered carbon fibre and linen that are woven into captivating, three-dimensional wall works. Also included in the show are Tectonic Lineations, Foliations and Tectonic Lineations 2, two voluminous and scintillating works whose soft curves are reminiscent of weathered rock formations. The paradox of their apparent mass contrasted with their ethereal yet structured composition explores analogies between geology and weaving, simultaneously complex yet insouciant.

Thursday 26 October to 27 November 2023