Saint Ambrose University recently issued the following announcement.
Rowen Schussheim-Anderson Exhibition
Date: 01/24/2022 - 02/25/2022
COST: FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Rowen Schussheim-Anderson, professor at Augustana College, has also taught at The Figge Art Museum, The Smithsonian Institution, National Endowment for the Arts' Artists-in-Education program, Maricopa Community College, and Arizona State University where she earned an MFA. She has served as a panelist for the Illinois Arts Council.
About the Exhibition, Tapestry Collage
An inventive artform, collage lends itself to a range of applications, including the fiber medium. Derived from the French word coller-to glue, collage combines shapes and textures to create two-dimensional compositions in which materials are arranged and affixed to a background. Compositions may encompass overlapping, layers, and cut or torn edged shapes. The assembled shapes produce a new, harmonious work. When well composed, a synergetic totality in which the sum is greater than the parts results.
Although practiced in Japan earlier, Braque and Picasso first used the term collage in the early 1900's. Gris, Schwitters, and Rauschenberg also worked in collage, and there were the famous, elegant Matisse cut-outs, collaged when his vision was failing and he could no longer paint. Bearsden depicted African American scenes in with innovative collages. In the 1970's abstract expressionist Krasner cut up her canvas paintings and reassembled them.
While artmaking with shapes has long been known as collage, fiber art has not historically been considered part of this tradition. Yet, fiber collage exists in different formats. Quilts are technically collages, as they are pieced together. San Blas artists in Panama made molas. Arpilleras were sewn as resistance statements in the1970's when thousands of Chileans and Peruvians "disappeared." West Africa is known for its vibrant kente cloth, woven strips sewn together in alternating blocks. Influenced by the kente aesthetic, Ghanaian artist El Anatsui creates cutting edge assemblages with repurposed materials.
The tapestry collages exhibited here were made in layers, weaving areas in sections and subsequently sewing components together. Some works have surface embellishments such as stitching and beadwork; others have openings or "windows"--using the slit tapestry technique--behind which woven sections are sewn in place. Fio de Luz, inspired by stained glass windows in Brazil, pushes the possibilities of the "window" concept. Three irregularly shaped openings were woven into the top layer, behind which three separately woven pieces were sewn. In Organic Meanderings and Inside Outside rectangular sections or "windows" were woven in the main/front piece, behind which were sewn small sections woven separately. Framing an area creates depth and emphasis. Small sections are often woven on a portable frame loom when away from home; the larger/main areas on a 56" four-harness floor loom. Fibers include linen, wool, silk, cotton, and rayon. The potential for more exploration of tapestry collage is boundless.
About the Artist
Works in permanent collections include Department of State and Federal Home Loan Bank Board, John Deere World Headquarters, IBM Corporation, Bettendorf Public Library, and many more. Works are also in private collections in the U.S. and abroad.
Articles or artwork by Rowen Schussheim-Anderson have been published in UNESCO, Exploring Fiber Art Volume on Wall Hangings, The Fiber Arts Design Book, 1,000 Artisan Textiles, American Craft, Fiberarts and FiberArt Now. Her tapestries have been juried into exhibitions including: fiberart international: Exhibition of Contemporary Fiber Art 2013 and 2010, International Fiber Biennale: From Lausanne to Beijing in 2020, 2014 and 2012, Craftforms at the Wayne Art Center, (PA) and Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames, (IA).
She received a second place in Fiber Celebration 2017 in Fort Collins (CO); other awards included in The Wichita Center for the Arts' (KS) Wichita National All Media Craft Exhibitions, from Quad City Arts, Iowa State Art Exhibition, and Inline. She participated in artprize in Grand Rapids (MI) and in solo exhibitions in Arizona, Michigan, Illinois, New Mexico, Indiana, and Iowa.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up