2019 Rijswijk Textile Biennial
Museum Rijswijk is hosting
the 6th Rijswijk Textile
Biennial from 18 June to 6 October.
New and vintage go hand in hand as 22 artists explore the past and present: in
their use of applied techniques and materials, as well as in their choice of
subjects. This makes the 2019 biennial both current and a fitting descendant in
a series of strong shows.
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| Paul Yore, 'Let Us Not Die From Habit, 2018, textiles, found materials, beads, Photo: P. Yore |
Computers
and the internet have become a valued, fixed part of our daily lives and they
have also gained ground in contemporary art practices. Kayla Mattes ’archives’ fleeting
pictures from the internet by way of time-consuming weaving. Apart from the
shared structure (the binary and warp & weft), she also sees a cultural
link: tapestries have traditionally documented culture. Totally different
approaches to the combination of ‘digitalism’ and weaving can be seen in Kata
Unger’s and David B. Smith’s works. The
one manifests a whirlwind of connotations through self-dyed wools in
breath-taking colours, the other manipulates with soft and flexible sculptures.
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| Paula do Prado, 'Genesis', 2018, textiles, beads, seeds. Photo: P. do Prado |
Just as
in the Textile Biennial of 2017, the majority of these artists make work that
comments on contemporary issues. Australian Paul Yore expresses through
activism. His appliquéd placards protest and comment on issues of gender, abuse
by the Church, consumerism and white superiority ideologies. His compatriot Paula
do Prado looks through the eyes of an insider and outsider at colonialism,
racism and, especially, that which connects.
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| Josefina Concha, 'Sempiterno', 2016, textiles machine embroidered: Photo: J. Concha |
Letting
materials speak – in particular those with a past – can be achieved in several
ways. Mark Newport creates beautiful mending samplers, in which traditional
methods raise the weaves to new levels. They symbolize the scars that life has
in store for us, in spirit and body. Lawrence Bailey’s appliquéd banners represent
frayed urban edges, and nature as scarred by humans – the very same who will
disappear into a black hole.
These artists work in big gestures and in
intimate ways that express the universal. Museum Rijswijk presents a kaleidoscopic
cross section of fibre arts in this prominent international exhibition.
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| Kayla Mattes, ' I WILL NOT', wool, acrylic, cotton, handwoven: Photo: K. Mattes |
Participating
artists:
Anna Astapova
(Russia/Netherlands), Lawrence James Bailey (United Kingdom/Netherlands),
Ana
Teresa Barboza (Peru), Nigel Cheney (United Kingdom), Max Colby (United States),
Josefina Concha (Chili), Paula do Prado (Australia), Katherine Entis (United
States), Kristine Fornes (Norway), Elizabeth Fram (United States), Lia de
Jonghe (Netherlands), Higi Jung (Korea), Mirjam Kruisselbrink (Netherlands),
Kayla Mattes (United States), Mark Newport (United States), Noora Schroderus
(Finland), David B. Smith (United States), Monika Supé (Germany), Marianne
Thoermer (Germany), Kata Unger (Germany), Paul Yore (Australia), Bhakti
Ziek (United States).
Accompanying
the Rijswijk Textile Biennial 2019 is an illustrated catalogue (Dutch/English),
penned by Frank van der Ploeg.
Open: Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
For more information:
www.museumrijswijk.nl