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Wendy
Lewington
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I am pleased to introduce you to my friend Wendy Lewington. Wendy
is an artist of exceptional talent who explores issues of family
and society. Her work is at once personal and universal. Her recent
work is filled with loss and longing. She does not shy away from
difficult subjects, creating pieces that I find compelling.
I first met Wendy in 1998. At that time there was a traveling exhibition
of her early work. I remember weeping as I strolled among the |
quilts that extolled the joys of motherhood and family and decried
the injustices of violence and abuse.
In addition to her own work Wendy is known for her outstanding projects
with school children and developmentally disabled adults. She has
facilitated the creation of extraordinary group works ranging from
classroom quilts to breathtaking installations. Her work with groups
always includes opportunities for personal discovery and important
lessons.
I am inspired by Wendy's work. It is beautiful and strong. It reflects
her values and her experiences while allowing the viewer to feel
a personal connection. I hope you will enjoy this glimpse of her
work.
- Mary
Holdgrafer.
Wendy
writes:
"My work expresses a concern for the world around me. I am
influenced by traditional needlearts, contemporary art practice,
and life events.
My design and construction methods include a variety of techniques
that draw from both the traditional and the contemporary: quiltmaking,
embroidery, dyeing, painting and photo transfer.
I believe that all art is a collective process. Even the artist
who works alone in her studio does not work in complete isolation.
She has been influeneced, intentionally or not, by her family, her
community, her peers, and other artists and thinkers who came before
her.
As an exhibiting artist who is also a mother, community member and
educator, I explore the constantly shifting intersections of dominant
and dissenting discourses, ideologies, power relations and my own
personal vision."
Wendy Lewington. January 2005
Please
click on the images to view enlargements:
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Stay.
2003
Life size gown, size 6
Cotton cheesecloth, cotton threads, procion dye, insects, buttons,
varathane, lightbulb, and wire.
Photography - Ryan Witt
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Stay was
exhibited in 'Artproplis 2003', curated by Donna Szoke,
who wrote:
"This piece appears as a perfect tiny gown from a distance.
Closer inspection reveals dead insects sewn under the dress’s
surface. The terrain of female embodiment is laid bare as a troubled
realm of surface and control, appearance and reality".
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Bones.1999
size: 60" x 30"
This piece is machine pieced and quilted with rayon thread using
hand dyed fabrics (procion mx series).
Photography - Micheal Shumiatcher
detail |
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"Bones" is part of an ongoing series of quilts that are
concerned with metamorphosis and the passage of time.
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Just
a minute. 1999
Size: 68" x 53"
Machine pieced and appliquéd using commercially printed fabrics.
This piece is machine quilted using rayon, cotton and metallic thread.
Photography - Michael Shumiatcher
 
see these two details of Just a minute
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"Just a Minute" is part of a series of quilts on the theme
of work. Within the context of a series of works that explore
the social, political and spiritual ramifications of human labour,
this piece considers the passage of time.
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