6/6/2014 Contemporary Fiber Colorado Invitational 2014

At last, at last, yesterday evening was the opening reception for Contemporary Fiber, Colorado Invitational 2014 at Helikon Gallery 3675 Wynkoop St. in River North (RINO), Denver.  Curated by Carol Ann Waugh, artist and owner of aBuzz Gallery several streets away, and expertly displayed by Cayce Goldberg, Helikon Gallery Director, the show was a feast of diverse styles and expressions in all kinds of fiber and fiber-like materials.

I was thrilled and honored to have two of my works included in the show.  Here I am in front of In the Beginning.

And here is Cayce Goldberg talking with P.J.Bergen in front of Lea McComas’ Material Girl, the show’s post card image.

Unbegotten, Bonnie Ferrill Roman’s large installation spoke of the artist’s frustration and longing for another child.  The piece used a variety of materials including cast and pieced paper, feel, wire, ink, encaustic, graphite acrylic yarn and fabric stiffener to create a sculptural female form out of which cascaded small crocheted spheres.

Using the fiber technique of crochet, Barbara O’Connell spun airy ephemeral gloves from wire, casting beautiful shadows on the wall.  Her work, Crocheted Gloves, is concerned with using materials and forms in unexpected ways.

Ray Tomasso, whose work I described in an earlier post, showed his cast paper work, Night in an Old Hotel.

Situated in an alcove up above the main gallery and lit by a flickering video was Sara Rockinger’s haunting work, In/Visible. Human figures, created from cotton and silk organza and moving gently in the air currents, were used to call attention to the U.S. history of migrants and the current debate about immigration.

Coming home after the show we were treated to a different kind of show, a celestial display of spectacular lightening with huge sheets of white and zigzags flashing and bursting across the sky.

I’ll be back at Helikon tomorrow for the panel discussion on the future of fiber and will do some more photography of other work including some close-ups.  Wish you could all be there.