 |
Email PageNo laughing Matter
October 12, 2006- November 11, 2006
Reception: October 12, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Christa Maiwald
Florence Lynch Gallery
531 W 25th St Christa Maiwald Bush as lampshade |  Christa Maiwald Chris Rock |  Christa Maiwald Condi |
 Christa Maiwald Richard Pryor |
In “No Laughing Matter,” which opens at the Florence Lynch Gallery Thursday, October 12, Christa Maiwald presents some thirty new hand-embroidered portraits of comedians and political figures as well as lamp shades and pillows hand-sewn with her own brand of political humor. An opening reception will be held October 12 from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition will remain on view through November 11.
“’No Laughing Matter,’ refers, quite simply, to the state of the world,” says the artist. “While our politicians and the havoc they wreak aren’t funny, comedians somehow manage to find the humor in life’s painful absurdity and in the ineffectual and often loathsome behavior of our politicians.”
The centerpiece of the show is “Laughing Stock,” which consists of portraits of such comedians as Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Jon Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Margaret Cho, among many others, surrounding images of Condoleeza Rice, Michael Chertoff, Donald Rumsfeld, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney and, of course, George Bush. There are also embroidered lampshades – “Hatchets of Mass Destruction” and “Texas Hare” – that shed light on dim bulbs; embroidered pillows for comfort or concealment; and other works.
For the past six years, Maiwald has been using the medium of embroidery to create portraits of teenagers moving from early adolescence into adulthood. More recently, in connection with a one-artist show in Lyon, France, she completed a series of portraits of French actors, writers, artists and chefs called “French Kiss,” in part a gesture of gratitude to France for not supporting the invasion of Iraq. At the same time she created a series of “backwards portraits” of politicians, historical figures and celebrities that display the back side of the embroidered fabric, with the attendant knots and threads a tongue-in-cheek metaphor for the hidden lives of public figures. “Working with thread is not so different from working with pencils or paint,” notes Maiwald.
“When you sew a line of thread, you are drawing. When you fill in an area and grade the colors, it is like painting.” From a distance, the medium of these pieces is difficult to discern. Moving closer, one discovers the fine points of the technique and realizes that the hours of hand stitching are justified by the results.
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show
|
 | |||||||||||||||||
|
© 2005-2008 chelseaartgalleries.com | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
| Site Map |
