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Natural Dyes at the Penland Gallery

installation view of "Further Evidence" at the Penland Gallery

For most of human history, the colors used in art, craft, and materials of all sorts were derived from plants, minerals, and insects. Since the industrial revolution, however, synthetic dyes and colors tailored for specific materials have been the norm. In recent years, the craft world has seen a renewed interest in natural dyes, and they are now the subject of a new exhibition at the Penland Gallery titled Further Evidence: The Art of Natural Dyes. This riot of color will be on display through July 14, with an opening reception from 4:30-6:30 PM on Saturday, June 15.

Curator Catharine Ellis explains that the recent interest in natural dyes has been inspired by the local food movement, by an interest in personal and environmental safety, and by an increased scientific and technical understanding of dye processes and materials. Ellis is a weaver and textile designer based in Waynesville, NC and is the co-author, with textile engineer Joy Boutrup, of a recent book titled The Art and Science of Natural Dyes. The Penland Gallery exhibition brings this book to life with innovative, colorful work in cloth, tapestry, and paper.

Many of the pieces incorporate various approaches to shaped-resist dying or shibori, techniques that can create patterns after the cloth has been woven or patterns that are embedded in the individual threads before they are put on the loom. Two pieces in the show include words that are part of the woven design. Other works have designs and imagery created through tapestry weaving, stenciling, stitching, or piece work.

Artwork by Ana Lisa Hedstrom
Indigo-dyed paper by Ana Lisa Hedstrom

A series of remarkable wall pieces by noted shibori artist Ana Lisa Hedstrom were made by folding paper, dying it in indigo, and then unfolding and flattening to reveal geometric patterns in blue. An installation by ink maker Tim McLaughlin display materials and tools used for ink production along with glass vials of ink and journal pages written in extraordinary script with a fountain pen. The whole exhibition is a testament to the commitment this group of artists has to understanding and creating art with the colors of nature.

Running concurrently with this exhibition is a smaller Focus Gallery show of functional pottery by former Penland resident artist Shoko Teruyama, whose work is ornately shaped and patterned in vivid colors. The Visitors Center Gallery has an ongoing display of objects that illuminate the history of Penland School, and the Lucy Morgan Gallery presents a selection of work by dozens of Penland-affiliated artists. On display outside the Penland Gallery are large steel sculptures by Daniel T. Beck and Hoss Haley. There is also an interactive, outdoor installation by Jeff Goodman titled The Kindness for Imaginary Things.

The Penland Gallery and Visitors Center is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM and Sunday, Noon-5:00 PM; it is closed on Mondays. For more information visit penland.org/gallery.

Two works from "Further Evidence"
Left: dyed and quilted piece by Kim Eichler-Messmer. Right: dyed and woven piece by Amanda Thatch.

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Sculpture and Sound at the Penland Gallery

view of the Penland Gallery filled with a display of modular cardboard sculptures
Installation view of Eleanor Annand’s sculptures in the new exhibition “Compose | Decompose”

“Compose | Decompose,” a new exhibition of mixed-media sculpture and sound installations, opens today at the Penland Gallery. The work has been created for this show by Penland resident artist Eleanor Annand and Make Noise, an Asheville collective that designs and builds electronic instruments and collaborates with musicians to create new worlds of sound. The exhibition runs through May 12 with an opening reception this Saturday, March 30 from 4:30 to 6:30 PM. The reception will include a musical performance by Make Noise artists Walker Farrell, Meg Mulhearn, and Jake Pugh.

Although the work has been carefully crafted, this exhibition is less about presenting collectable items and much more about creating a unique environment and experience for the viewer. The work Eleanor Annand made for the show is primarily constructed from laser-cut cardboard that has been intricately designed to allow her to hand-fold hundreds of pieces into different shapes; other pieces are made from cast paper elements. “This work plays with disruption, entropy, light, and shadow,” Annand says. “Embracing a lack of permanence, I worked primarily with cardboard and recycled paper scraps to create modular units that can be arranged in a myriad of ways. Compose, decompose, compose, decompose, is a cycle in my process that mimics cycles of life and which I am exploring further in the impermanence of my materials.”

Top-down view of a Make Noise synthesizer
Make Noise, “Shared System.” Visitors are invited to listen to a piece of music recorded on this synthesizer and to experiment with their own compositions on others.

Accompanying Annand’s work are sound installations that use Make Noise synthesizers to create a series of aural environments that visitors can experience through the use of headphones. Modular synthesizers, not unlike Annand’s sculptures, are comprised of multiple units that can be combined and adjusted in countless ways to create different sounds. The sounds in these installations were created by various artists using instruments designed by Tony Rolando.

Explaining their intent, Make Noise has said, “We want our instruments to be an experience, one that will require us to change our trajectories and thereby impact the way we understand and imagine sound. Also, we think what we do is fun and we hope you like it, too.”

Running concurrently with this exhibition is a smaller Focus Gallery show of functional pottery by Joseph Pintz, whose work is characterized by sturdy, earthenware forms and richly layered surfaces. In addition, the Visitors Center Gallery has an ongoing display of objects that illuminate the history of Penland School, and the Lucy Morgan Gallery presents a selection of work by dozens of Penland-affiliated artists. On display outside the Penland Gallery are large steel sculptures by Daniel T. Beck and Hoss Haley, plus a structure designed by artist Meredith Brickell that invites visitors to stop for a few minutes and observe the clouds.

cast paper sculptures installed against a black wall in the Penland Gallery
Detail of “Sequence,” a cast paper piece by Eleanor Annand.

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Personal | Universal

exhibition view of "Personal | Universal"

The new exhibition at the Penland Gallery has stories to tell. Titled “Personal | Universal: Narrative Work in Craft,” the show includes pieces by eleven artists working in a variety of media who have created images or objects that hint at a story of some kind. The exhibition runs through July 15 with an opening reception on Saturday, June 2 from 4:30 to 6:30 PM.

In a sense, this exhibition is posing a question: how much does it take to make a story? These pieces are primarily visual, they don’t have sequences like a comic book, and most of them do not contain text. Yet they are filled with references and possibilities that suggest something that may have happened or may be about to happen; they may nudge the viewer toward a memory or experience of their own. Gallery director Kathryn Gremley says, “In this work, the artist provides the narrative genesis, and the viewer completes the story.”

The exhibition includes work in ceramic, glass, painting, collage, printmaking, metal, cast plaster, mixed-media, and found objects. Among these pieces is a work by sculptor David Chatt, titled “1982,” which is an iconic boom box cloaked in white beads that have been painstakingly stitched together to form a tight skin on the object. Corey Pemberton, who is currently a core fellowship student at Penland School, is represented by two wall pieces—each of them depicting a young woman sitting in a room—that combine painting with photographic images and collaged materials such as wood veneer and wallpaper. Shawn HibmaCronan has created a large wreath made entirely of used, leather work gloves that carry the patina of thousands of hours of labor. Each piece pulls the viewer into a different little world.

Work from “Personal | Universal” by Shawn HibmaCronan, Corey Pemberton, Anne Lemanski, and Shoko Teruyama

Running concurrently with this exhibition is a smaller show of ceramic work by Jenny Mendes. This show will include sculpture focused on animal and human forms and highly-decorated functional pieces. The Visitors Center Gallery has an ongoing display of objects that illuminate the history of Penland School, and the Lucy Morgan Gallery presents a selection of work by dozens of Penland-affiliated artists. On display outside the Penland Gallery are large sculptures in stone and steel by Daniel T. Beck, Hoss Haley, and Carl Peverall, plus a structure designed by artist Meredith Brickell that invites visitors to stop for a few minutes and observe the clouds.