Saturday I visited the "Santa Fe District", seeking only Translations Gallery, the area's finest venue for contemporary textile art. Well it's the only venue for contemporary textile art in town. Textile art got a bad rap in the 60's & 70's because of an abundance of macrame, translating down to walnut owls, with Cheerio eyes. Did you have one of these in your home too? On burlap no less.
Deborah Kruger's show, "Plumage: New work in Fiber & Encaustic" is up until March 15th.
Visual Summary: pointy painted colorful fabrics.
Wow Factor: The viewing room has some incredible pieces, by other artists.
It's not that I didn't like Kruger's work. There were some really interesting dramatic pieces. It pains me to see textile art in frames, behind plexi. I understand they might be easier to sell, but you miss the option to touch them. Would you rather reach out and touch a fuzzy wool weaving, or an oil painting?
The above picture, pretty well represents the large amount of work in the show. The gallery is quite spacious so you can spend some considerable time at Translations. Alongside Kruger's work, are some wonderful wood furniture tables, with fabric incorporated into the table surface. This is a must see. The pieces are an original mix of strip weavings and fine art furniture.
While you're at Translations, please don't miss the Viewing Room, on the right side as you enter the gallery. There are some very innovative artists work on display: crocheted ceramics, contemporary weavings, colorful modern quilts. If I had unlimited money, my walls and furniture would be covered with this stuff. Ruth Borgenicht's ceramics, Bob Adams' pieced fabrics, Karen Kanenetzky's "Roots of Rythm", just to name a few.
The first show I saw here, led me to believe I will alway find high quality work at Translations. Please check it out for yourself.
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