Ways of Seeing will illustrate different types of art selection criteria — by theme, by artist, by size. Each work in The Art Aquatic, one of the exhibitions within Ways of Seeing, exists at the intersection of the artist's fascination with a variety of nautical themes and the artmaking process. Viewers will find imaginative uses of water-related materials: sculptures by Chris Drury of the UK — a kayak and paddle wrapped in salmon skin, Marian Bijlenga’s composition of fish scales, and Jeannet Leenderste’s baskets made of seaweed. Other works offer more abstract references to life in the deep, including Ulla-Maija Vikman’s “painting,” Biagga (Sea Wind), made of viscose threads in marine colors and Mariette Rousseau-Vermette’s Blue Water II, made of woven tubes of beachy blue, grey, white, and yellow. A third series of works offer watery imagery, like Judy Mulford’s Aging by the Sea which incorporates a conch shell and a tiny boat covered in knotless netting, Ed Rossbach’s Fish Trap Basket, with a whimsical fish motif, and the mermaid in Norma Minkowitz’s sculpture, My Cup Runneth Over.
Nearly two dozen international women artists of substance and significance are heralded in Impact: 20 Women Artists to Collect another of the groupings in Ways of Seeing at browngrotta arts this Fall. Impact will feature a multifaceted group of sculptures, tapestries, and mixed media works made from 1976 to 2024. The artists in Impact have demonstrated a knowledge of traditional and experimental techniques, while redefining the perception of textiles as fine art. “Each of these artists have enlarged the expectations and possibilities of fiber art through their singular, iconic practices,” says browngrotta arts co-curator, Tom Grotta. New works by Yeonsoon Chang of Korea, Carolina Yrarrázaval of Chile, and Polly Barton of the US, will be displayed in Impact, combined with earlier, seminal works by Kay Sekimachi, the late Adela Akers, and late Katherine Westphal of the US, Grethe Sørensen of Denmark, and Hisako Sekijima of Japan, and more.
Right-sized means to convert something to an appropriate or optimum size. A third exhibition within Ways of Seeing at browngrotta arts this Fall, Right-Sized, considers collections from this perspective. Right-Sized gathers works to fit specific size parameters and price points. Diversity is a hallmark -- in materials, techniques, and approaches. Right-Sized will feature a salon wall of ecletic works — framed, dimensional, unexpected — along with smaller groupings of curated items. In Right-Sized, viewers will find embroidery by Diane Itter, sculpture in sisal by Mia Olsson, paper by Noriko Takamiya, and willow by Lizzie Farey, and ceramics by Claude Vermette, in addition to spheres and boxes, and baskets of natural materials worthy of collecting in multiples.
