FJ Hakimian and Cipango are presenting “Re-Imagined: New work from Traditional Makers, Designers and Artists from Across the World” on Thursday, August 10 from 4 to 8 PM at 96 Cove Hollow in East Hampton.
Featuring objects and surfaces by Annika Andersson (Sweden), Hamrei (UK, Portugal), Harigane (Japan), Jaclyn Mednicov x Maruni (USA, Japan), Veronica Pock (UK, The Netherlands), Maria Sigma (UK, Greece), Mariana Silva Varela (Sweden), Marianne Kemp (The Netherlands), Momoka Gomi (UK, Japan), Tatinoya (Japan), and Yokoyama (Japan); this group exhibition celebrates ingenuity and inventiveness, a respect for natural resources and materials, and a deep understanding of traditional practices across various modes of making. Exploring themes of tradition and evolution, sustainability and up-cycling, each of these artists/design collectives combine innovation with an empathy and reverence for nature and for what has come before.
Re-imagined brings together a range of designs in different media, including wood, metal, abaca, horsehair, denim, cassette tape, old maps and waste sisal to name but a few. This selection of surfaces and objects proposes a conversation between traditional, historic design methods and vernacular, and a desire to evolve and adapt these practices to meet current ecological and environmental concerns. Showcasing work that can be used in both residential and commercial settings, interior and exterior design, Re-imagined features hand woven and loom woven textiles as well as hand made objects from seven countries across three continents. Some pieces exist as unique, stand alone works of art and others serve as functional and decorative surfaces for walls, ceilings, room dividers, cars, furniture, and fashion.
A seaside sensitivity and sensibility has been thoughtfully considered in curating this Hamptons exhibition. For example, Harigane’s expression of luminous woven metal is an ideal material for coastal projects and locations, as the stainless-steel threads are rust proof and hard wearing. Visually the metallic textiles are beautifully reflective, catching the ever-changing seaside light throughout the days and seasons. Likewise, Mariana Silva Varela’s hand woven, naturally dyed linen and wool, loosely interspersed with lustrous Japanese gold thread, captures and reflects the sunlight, creating a magical play of light and shadows. Inspired by the dunes and clifs of the Portuguese coast, Hamrei’s DUNE table lamp, combines hand woven horsehair, hand chiseled limestone and hand textured black steel; hours of meticulous work using responsibly sourced materials culminating in an enchanting balance of hard and soft.
From two distinct yet complementary Kyoto based collectives, Re-imagined also features rich yet delicate hand woven cedar designs by Yokoyama Bamboo, as well as the most elegant woven wood fabrics, ki-ori, from Tatinoya. Tatinoya’s unique and proprietary wood weaving method marries innovation with traditional Japanese arts and crafts to create the most stunning natural expression of textile design, celebrating wood as a raw material and bringing warmth and harmony to any design project.
Another union of disparate yet harmonious elements are the wall covering collaborations of Chicago based artist, Jaclyn Mednicov, and the celebrated Japanese woodblock printers, Maruni. Mednicov brings a fresh perspective and experimental techniques to Maruni’s traditional methods, layering and modifying their designs to reinterpret patterns from deep in Japan’s Karakami history. The result is a beautiful balance of past and present, nature and technology.
Thematically linking much of the work is a sensitivity and engagement with sustainability and environmental issues. With materiality as a starting point, Veronica Pock gives value, meaning and new life to apparently worthless, throw-away materials. Pock’s Untitled incorporates vintage cassette tape in its weft. Echoing the music and memories that are embedded in the material, the woven piece loops round and through itself in a perpetual dance of light and dark. Maria Sigma, an award-winning textile designer and weaver, specializes in ‘zero waste’, ethical, hand woven textiles. Sigma’s Apricity Wall Piece IIA, inspired by an abstract view of nature and her Greek heritage, addresses ecological concerns through her use of all natural materials including undyed British wool, naturally dyed Indigo linen, un-dyed jute, and un-dyed waste sisal.
Lastly, Annika Andersson’s bubbles and landscape pieces take inspiration from ancient shibori, turning flat fabric into three-dimensional, sculptural forms, “in a slow, growing organic procedure where a movement is repeated over and over again, bubble by bubble.” Momoka Gomi pieces from her Recollection and Eden series, focus on process, the organic accident, and the material appreciation. Marianne Kemp’s passion for natural materials including horsehair, dried plant fibers, cocos and bark fibers combined with her skilled and meticulous way of molding, knotting, curling and looping her materials results in handwoven art that compliments the most sophisticated of interiors.
RSVP to roxanne@fjhakimian.com.
