De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things)

CURATORIAL STATEMENT

 

World of Threads Festival
Common Thread International Exhibition

Curator: Gareth Bate, Toronto.

Nov. 2 - 18, 2012
Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre, 1086 Burnhamthorpe Road East, Oakville.
View Exhibition Artwork
World of Threads Festival

 

De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things) is a highly eccentric exhibition evoking the collection of a mad 18th century naturalist. All the artwork is dealing with themes of nature, plants and animals. Curator Gareth Bate has observed that environmental work is the most dominant theme in contemporary fibre art. This lush and colourful environment is filled with striking and sometimes bizarre work. The title of the exhibition is based on the ancient Roman poem De rerum natura by Lucretius who's rediscovery was a major inspiration for Renaissance artists.

The show features the work of 35 artists from Canada, Denmark, United Kingdom and USA. They are working in a huge variety of media.

Gareth is setting the show up in thematic opposition to Memento mori his other exhibition at The Gallery at Sheridan Institute in Oakville. That exhibition deals with themes of death, mortality and grief and the quest for immortality. That show is an underworld environment and the opposite of De rerum natura. All the Memento mori artwork engages with techniques or the aesthetic of fibre, but none of the work is actually made of fibre materials.

 

Artists

• Canada: British Columbia: Vancouver: Bettina Matzkuhn, Carlyn Yandle, Manitoba: Winnipeg: Heather Komus, Ingrid Lincoln, New Brunswick: Saint John: Sandra Betts, Ontario: Alliston: Amy Bagshaw, Kingston:
  Phillida Hargreaves, Robin Laws Field, Sylvia Naylor, Kitchener: Joanne Young, Mississauga: Pat Hertzberg, Oakville: Sybil Rampen, Ixchel Suarez, Ottawa: Sayward Johnson, Rockwood: Susan Strachan Johnson,Toronto: Lizz Aston, karen darricades, Libby Hague, Jillian MacLachlan, Liz Menard, Leanne Shea Rhem,
  Sheila Thompson,Tweed: Marta Mouka, Quebec: Montreal: Soufïa Bensaïd, Emily Jan, Valérie d. Walker, St-Sauveur: Marjolein Dallinga,Saskatchewan: Meacham: June J. Jacobs.
• Denmark: Copenhagen: Birgitta Hallberg.
• United Kingdom: Liverpool: Sarah Martin.
• USA: California: San Francisco: Chris Motley, Georgia: Atlanta: Leisa Rich, Massachusetts: Somerville:
  Jodi Colella, Oregon: Philomath: Laura G. Berman, Virginia: Charlottesville: Lotta Helleberg.
   

 

Common Thread International Exhibitions

Theses are the flagship shows of the World of Threads Festival. Hundreds of artists from around the world submitted bodies of work, installations or individual pieces to the Festival. Multiple curators from various Oakville and Toronto galleries have created exciting exhibitions based on their own unique interests. We bring international contemporary fibre art to Oakville and the Toronto area as well as highlight the strength of our local artists.