Thursday, October 14, 2021

AbStranded: Fiber and Abstraction in Contemporary Art
Everson Museum of Art

Price: Museum admission: $8 regular, $6 student/senior, free for members, children 12 and under, and military with ID
Everson Museum of Art
401 Harrison St., Syracuse

AbStranded features 10 contemporary American artists — Polly Apfelbaum, Paolo Arao, Sanford Biggers, Samantha Bittman, Julia Bland, Rachel B. Hayes, Elana Herzog, Anne Lindberg, Sheila Pepe, and Sarah Zapata — who use fiber-based materials to investigate the complex lineage of abstraction. Utilizing a diverse variety of methods, styles, and forms, these artists uncover and co-opt textile traditions and material sources in order to re-assert their validity and relevance in an increasingly global-industrial culture. A prominent use of the hand looms large — through knitting, weaving, quilting, and more — and suggests an alternative mode of communication within today's digital society. Together, the works reveal how artists employ the language of abstraction to speak about the intertwined histories and politics of craft, race, and gender.