Natalie Kuenzi

Natalie Kuenzi

Marie Fornaro

Marie Fornaro

PostSCRIPT: NOTIONS ON CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

University of Delaware Curatorial Fellow Exhibition

June 7 - July 28, 2019

OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, June 7, 2019 | 5 - 9 PM during Art Loop

RELATED PROGRAMMING: 
The Art Cart featuring artists Melissa Joseph and Natalie Kuenzi
Sunday, June 9, 2019 | 12 - 5 PM

PostScript: Notions on Contemporary Craft explores what it means to be an artist and craftsperson in the contemporary art world. As the term "craft" continues to evolve, PostScript attempts to break down barriers built between fine arts and crafts, while giving a platform to four emerging female artists to write their postscript to the conclusion of their formal education. Using a common thread of process as a practice, and labor as a commodity, Victoria Ahmadizadeh, Marie Fornaro, Melissa Joseph, and Natalie Kuenzi present their unique takes on contemporary craft, while reintroducing themselves to a larger community.

Victoria Ahmadizadeh's mixed media work employs glass as an anchoring element to create visual manifestations of her poetry and texts. Exploiting the medium for its transformative qualities, as well as its relationship to alchemy, her process serves to redeem and digest her memories. Ahmadizadeh has studied at Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood, WA, and Penland School of Crafts in Penland, NC, and received her MFA in Craft and Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2016.

Marie Fornaro's fiber-based work speaks to women's issues, while acknowledging established links between fiber arts and women's lived experiences. Through the construction and deconstruction of her work she confronts contradictions on what we deem sacred and the underlying references to violence inherent to the act of sewing. Fornaro recently received her MFA in Craft, and Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University, and studied extensively at the Penland School of Crafts.

Melissa Joseph's mixed media sculptures and collages play with ideas of memory and legacy, while grounding themselves in materiality. Using textiles printed with Joseph's photographs paired with found objects, her subtle gestures of folding and wrapping obscure both images and objects as she sifts through her memories. Joseph received her MFA from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in 2018, and in 2019 was selected for inclusion in New American Paintings.

Natalie Kuenzi's large-scale textiles, produced from plastic shopping bags, explore the use of high and low art materials, while creating spaces for wonder and joy. Through material and scale her work attempts to dismantle long-standing views of craft traditions and their intersection with fine arts. Kuenzi received her MFA from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 2017 where she now works as a studio technician and adjunct instructor.

- This exhibition is curated by Kate Testa, University of Delaware Curatorial Fellow.

Constance S. & Robert J. Hennessy Project Space

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