NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Explore “Entwined” virtually at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.
“I follow my hands, and they often reveal the answers to the questions that I am asking myself while I explore the material I am working with.” – Sonya Yong James
Drawing inspiration from the traditions of various cultures – Haitian Voudou, Appalachian broom-making, Calabrian silk production, Peruvian rope coiling, Congo Nkisi – the contemporary Southern artists in Entwined engage wrapping and binding as a symbolic aesthetic device, and often as a ritual practice within their work.
The technique and the symbolism of wrapping and binding in the work of these artists is as varied as the artists themselves. From the visionary allegorical paintings of the female form by Susan Jamison to the abstract textile sculptures of Sarah Zapata, there exists a common thread of ritual. For some, it is the ritual of repetitive laborious handwork. For others, it is a ritual and spiritual act of creation. Through wrapping, painting, weaving, coiling, drawing or knotting, each artist binds their own unique and thoroughly contemporary vision to an ancient, universal and very human practice.
Entwined features works by Friendswood Brooms, Jeffrey Cook, Sonya Yong James, Susan Jamison, Sharon Kopriva, Kristin Meyers, Susan Plum, Ashley Pridmore, Elizabeth Shannon, Ed Williford and Sarah Zapata.
