High Fiber
Fri. Dec. 6
5-8 p.m.
Free to attend (includes live music, wine,
and treats for all)
Meyer Vogl Gallery
122 Meeting St.
Downtown
meyervogl.com
Fashion and art collide in Meyer Vogl Gallery’s upcoming High Fiber exhibition. Fashion is an art in itself, but this show examines clothing and textile design from a visual arts perspective. The exhibition features four artists who primarily work within the mediums of paint and ink and who share one thing in common: they offer stunning representations of textiles ranging from the conventional beauty of an intricate tablecloth to minimalist illustrations of high fashion design. Locally based artists Carrie Beth Waghorn and Paul Ferrari are represented as well as visiting artists Adrienne Stein and Melanie Parke.
“I’ve had the idea for a fabrics-inspired exhibition brewing in my mind for a few years now,” says gallery director Katie Greer. “I love figurative art. And, while I have such an appreciation for nudes and more abstracted figurative work, I kept finding myself really excited when I’d see artists making work in which the clothes that their subjects were wearing were as important as the subjects themselves. Each of the four artists in this show brings a unique perspective to being inspired by fabrics.”
Ferrari’s work led to the initial inspiration for the exhibition, says Greer. The gallery has represented him for years, and, as a former fashion illustrator for Ralph Lauren in New York, fashion plays an important role in his work. The show will feature his paintings as well as some of his old illustrations. “His attention to fabric and patterns is innate,” says Greer. “He paints these beautiful figures, but they’re also often wearing the most beautiful clothes. That feels so unique to me. Paul approached me about a new series he had been wanting to work on, and it seemed like the perfect time to do the fabrics-inspired show I’d been dreaming of.”
Local artist Waghorn is best known for her monochromatic, minimalist, and typically nude female figures, but she started exploring fashion design and wearable art with the launch of her clothing line, World Ink Project, last year. With her dual attention to fashion design and visual illustration, Waghorn is “an obvious addition to the group exhibition,” says Greer. “In addition to her minimalist figurative paintings that we show in the gallery, she also makes clothes. For High Fiber, she has created both paintings and a 3-D installation.”
Greer has also invited two artists to participate in the show whose work has never been featured at the gallery before now — Adrienne Stein and Melanie Parke. “Adrienne is an incredible realist figurative painter who puts an emphasis on both nature and vibrant fabrics,” explains Greer. “[She] paints figures, mostly women, adorned in fabrics, but with her work, the fabrics work more to accentuate the figure, like bright flowy fabrics draped over a female’s body.” Her paintings carry mythical and historical elements and feature women in environments rich in detail and dressed in fabrics that complement their surroundings.
Parke, on the other hand, paints interiors and is the only non-figurative painter in the show. “If Carrie Beth is a minimalist, Melanie is a maximalist; her paintings are a feast of mixed patterns and bold colors,” says Greer. “I realized that a show that focused on fabrics didn’t have to be restricted to clothes on bodies. Melanie paints the most dreamy, light-filled interiors with mixed patterns strewn across the room. Imagine a kitchen table with a blue-and-white striped tablecloth and colorful Otomi napkins juxtaposed against a bright floral wallpaper. I’ve loved both Adrienne and Melanie’s work for years and was so thrilled when they agreed to be in the show.”
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