Unique fiber maps on display

by Deborah Stone
Arts and Entertainment

Fiber art is the medium in Bellevue Arts Museum’s newest exhibition, “On Mapping: New Perspectives with a Common Thread.” Currently on display are the unique works of four contemporary West Coast fiber artists – Linda Glass, Matthew Gerring, Barbara Lee Smith and Toot Reid – each of whom has found inspiration for their work in the environment.

Their creations utilize the process of mapping as a tool to discover one’s relationship to nature.

Photo by James Dewrance
“ Wetlands Dream 2006” by Linda Gass

Lines, geometric patterns and other forms are hand-stitched or sewn on a machine, while textures and shadows are added through a process of layering, quilting or embroidering. The results are two-and three-dimensional pieces that have painterly and sculptural qualities.

Linda Gass’ quilts depict aerial views of San Francisco Bay. Using silk dyes on silk cloth, she has created paintings of vivid colors that emerge as topographical landscapes with islands, waterways and roads. It is the radiant colors that attract viewers, but it is the labor intensive processes used to create such work that leaves the most lasting impression.

In artist Matthew Gerring’s work, “Moon,” a 3-D map of the moon has been created on a seven-foot diameter black globe. Its surface is covered with millions of machine embroidered white stitches that appear as craters on the surface of the moon. Gerring refers to his work as the “demonstration of how science has deconstructed magical celestial bodies in an attempt to ‘know them.” “Moon” was awarded with the 2005 International Sculpture Center Award for Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture.

A series of abstract hangings comprise Tacoma-based artist Toot Reid’s creations. Reid cuts up fabrics into small triangles and sews them together in squares, creating intricate grids.

Each square is an entity in itself, separated from the others by narrow pathways which surround it. The viewer is tempted to follow the paths and see where they lead in these maze-like creations. Color and color contrasts are the focus here with even the threads chosen carefully for their hue.

Closer to home are Barbara Lee Smith’s mix media textiles inspired by views of Puget Sound. Smith paints, prints and stitches together various materials to create large fabric panels. Beautifully subdued colors are used to create lyrical landscapes and seascapes that appear as lush watercolors.

From afar, they resemble Northwest vistas comprised of clouds, marshlands, bodies of water and mountain backdrops. Up close, fragments of cloth and thread appear in scattered fashion.

For viewers, “On Mapping: New Perspectives with a Common Thread” is a delightful sensory experience that invites exploration of one’s relationship to the environment. This exhibit runs through Sept. 3. For information, call 425-519-0770 or visit: www.bellevuearts.org.

Chairs become an art form in new exhibition

by Deborah Stone
Arts and Entertainment

I never really considered chairs to be a true art form. In my mind, they were functional pieces of furniture for use and not display, that is until I went to Bellevue Arts Museum and visited its newest exhibition, “Garry Knox Bennett: Call Me Chairmaker.”

Photo by M. Lee Fatherree
“ Wing Chair 2003” by Garry Knox Bennett

This show features unique sculptural chairs created by Bennett, one of the foremost contemporary studio furniture makers in America. Originally trained as a painter and sculptor in California during the ’60s, Bennett used his skills to create a metal plating business, specializing in handmade jewelry. From jewelry, he moved to building clocks and then later expanded into furniture-making. This self-taught woodworker explored a wide variety of furniture forms, including desks, chests, sideboards, stools, benches, lamps and chairs.

Several years ago, he set a goal to craft 100 chairs. To date, he has completed 81; 52 of which are currently on display at BAM.

Inspired by well-known furniture designers and architects as Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Rennie Mackintsoh, George Nakashima and Gerrit Rietveld, Bennett elevates his chairs to a form of art, each with its own personality. His pieces incorporate precious materials such as rosewood and satinwood with unconventional ones like brass, plastic, velvet, leather and aluminum.

Although most of the chairs in the exhibit are functional, they serve more as symbols than actual seating apparatus. The comfort factor is definitely questionable, let alone the ability of one to actually sit on these creations. For example, there’s “Thong,” a simple unadorned chair with a seat comprised of an ultra thin slat of fir that would present a challenge to even the skinniest person! Many of the pieces are part of a series and represent variations on a theme.

Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld’s 1934 Zig-Zag chair serves as an inspiration for a series by Bennett that is a creative take-off on this design. Within this group, there’s “Great Granny Rietveld,” a chair that has Rietveld’s hard-edge, modern design wrapped in a retro floral-pattern cotton upholstery. The incongruous look of this piece causes instant chuckles among viewers. As does “Wing Chair,” another homage to Rietveld. Here, Bennett has put metallic wings on a classic colonial wing-back chair for a humorous twist. The “Chinese Platform Chair” series is comprised of several handsome pieces made of lacquered wood and bamboo, decorated with gold leaf and velvet upholstery.

They appear as royal thrones fit for emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In another group that Bennett titles “Thonet Wall Series,” partial chairs stick out of wood panels hung on the walls. One of my favorite pieces is “Martha Stewart Chair,” a plastic lawn chair with floral patterned cushions that are attached by large bows.

The bows are a nod to the famous homemaker who would “do as the house wife does in her spare time – fix up lawn chairs.”

Throughout this exhibit, the artist’s raucous humor, wit and visual puns are present in abundance. Bennett’s bold and imaginative work is irreverent in that it abandons conventional principles of art and design, yet despite his clear disdain for established artistic practices, it is clear that this artist is a master craftsman with finely honed skills.

“Garry Knox Bennett: Call Me Chairmaker” runs at Bellevue Arts Museum through Nov. 26. For more information, call (425) 519-0770 or visit: www.bellevuearts.org.