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"’From the States’ is a rotating exhibit program in
which state committees of NMWA bring one artist from their state to greater
public attention in the nation’s capital," explained Mara Williams, one of
the jurors who chose the Vermont finalists. "These artists are not related
by style or theme, only by geography and gender," she continued, "and
by the fact that three jurors found viewing their work a rich and rewarding
experience." From this group, one artist-weaver— Elizabeth Billings of
Tunbridge— was selected by curators from NMWA to represent the state in the
exhibit from March 1 through May 30, 2003.
The "spirited women" in the exhibit are an
eclectic group. Some are sculptors, some painters or printmakers, others
weavers or mixed media artists. Their materials range from the traditional to the
completely unexpected.
Billings incorporates reeds, fir needles, stalks, grasses,
and saplings into her elegant woven wall tapestries. Patricia Burleson of
Townshend makes fascinating narrative baskets from found objects, intertwining
inner tubes, buttons, barbed wire, keys, and small dolls with fabric and paint.
Kathryn Lipke Vigesaa, of Waterville, combines primitive
naturalism with the power of the ritual object in her sculpture, "Seed
Catchers." Made from willow saplings, Japanese paper, and beeswax, these
spiky structures project a kind of aggressive delicacy that is often found in
the natural world. The female human form is a universal symbol of hope to Janet
McKenzie of Island Pond. Her paintings pay homage to the spiritual search for
meaning and relevance and seek to remind us, she says, "of our inherent
dignity, courage, and grace as people."
Lynn Newcomb, of Worcester, a sculptor and printmaker,
both forges steel to make sculptural objects and etches plates for printing on
paper. Examples of both her chosen mediums appear in the exhibit. Bennington
artist Sue Rees also straddles different art forms, often collaborating with
performance artists or adding animation, sound, or video projection to her
work. Her mixed media installation on view at the Museum combines glove forms
sewn from luxurious fabrics with a mechanical device the viewer can switch on
to make the gloves move.
The Old Testament’s "Song of Songs" inspired
sculptor Kathleen Schneider, of Winooski, to take the image of a
"lamb" and render it in many different forms and materials,
suggesting a variety of meanings and symbolisms. Meg Walker, born in Scotland
and now living in Charlotte, uses cardboard, wood, and paint to give us
whimsical images of barns and other rural buildings that evoke both the Vermont
landscape and the Scottish one, and a changing way of life.
Strange, somewhat mechanical, alien-like objects float in
the atmospheric landscapes of painter and Brattleboro resident Dana Wigdor.
Trying to decipher what they might be is one of the delights of looking at her
work. Also surprising are Burlington sculptor Barbara Zucker’s "Time
Signatures," which appear to be abstract steel wall sculptures, enhanced
by the shadows cast by their open forms on the white wall. But Zucker based
their patterns on the wrinkles in women’s faces, which she sees as a beautiful
part of nature. |
