A Group Show Curated by Rachel Rosenkoetter
August 10th - August 30th
Reception Friday August 10th from 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Featuring new work by Meagan Boyd, Hannah Epstein, Meghan McAleavy, Maryanne Moodie, Emma Suman and Anna Valdez.
In an era of ever-accelerating visual turnover, the artists represented in NEOFOLK are slowing down to create their work. Fearless of utilitarianism or decoration, but without relinquishing concept and dialogue, they create images and objects throbbing with vitality and handmade character.
Working with meticulous traditional processes like rug-hooking, embroidery, and weaving, these women embrace old materials to express new ideas. The results are at once naive and virtuosic, everyday and ceremonial, precise and wonky, rigorous and goofy.
As identities become ever more complex and multicultural, what does it mean to create work with a folk ethos? How does contemporary art practice reflect a broader cultural longing for the ritual, the analog, the homespun? NEOFOLK considers these questions and sets out to collapse tired distinctions between self-taught and academically trained, local and global, craftsmanship and conceptualism.
Meagan Boyd, b. 1987, lives and works in the dark paradise, often referred to as Los Angeles. Through her art making process, she explores the transcendence between dreams and waking-life in the context of magic and myth. The work often depicts utopian atmospheres filled with modern day nymphs, deities, holy beings, and party monsters who reveal the the interconnectivity of animals, people and nature. Using an explosive color palette along with intricate line-work, her freakishly folkish style combines the nostalgic essence of the fauves juxtaposed with a neon-like urban glow.
Hannah Epstein (hanski) is a multi-dimensional universal being in the form of a hot girl. Currently she splits her time between Toronto and LA. Raised in Nova Scotia, Epstein reps east coast vibes. She makes Art using textiles (rugs, tapestry, fibre collage, soft sculpture) and a full gamut of media, old and new (video, online platforms, games). She has a B.A in Folklore, which means she accepts no narrative at face value. She has an MFA from Carnegie Mellon, which means she carries the elite blessing of the academy. She is rep'd by Steve Turner, a fancy ass gallery in LA. Hit her up.
Meghan McAleavy was born and raised in New Jersey and is a freelance textile artist who predominantly uses free-motion machine embroidery and appliqué techniques in her art. Her current work is inspired by traditional Masonic lodge banners. McAleavy has made dozens of one-of-a-kind Satin Banners for tattoo artists around the globe. Her attention to detail and craftsmanship have made her work highly sought after. In 2005, McAleavy received a BFA in Textiles from Oregon College of Art & Craft. She has participated in several group shows on both the East and West coasts. McAleavy currently lives and works in Asbury Park, NJ.
Maryanne is a fiber-obsessed maker from Australia working between Melbourne and Brooklyn, NY. She divides her time between designing and creating woven wall hangings, developing weaving kits, and teaching sold-out workshops across the world. Maryanne is best known for applying unexpected color combinations to her nostalgic designs. She is inspired by the intricacies of vintage textiles, traditional costuming, modern art, and the natural world. Maryanne’s work has been featured in New York Magazine, Anthology, O Magazine, Grazia, Interwoven, and online on Design*Sponge and The Design Files. A finalist in the Martha Stewart American Made Awards in both 2014 and 2015, she sells her work on Etsy and through online shops and boutiques around the country.
Rachel Rosenkoetter is a visual artist living in Portland, OR. Born and raised in MO, Rosenkoetter received a BFA in Painting from Missouri State University and her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art. Utilizing painting, collage and installation, her work investigates mysticism and states of being. Revealing symbols and bodies as potent with sacred potential, Rosenkoetter harnesses physical forms to speak to a metaphysical ecstasy and excess.
Emma is a Portland-based artist working in textiles and traditional media. She recently graduated with her BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft.
Working across painting, drawing, printmaking, collage, and digital media, Valdez examines the relationship between material and cultural identity. She incorporates articles found in domestic spaces such as plants, textiles, vessels and keepsakes into her work as a method of storytelling. Her colorful work invites the viewer to consider objects as emblematic of personal and collective experience, shifting between still-life and portraiture. Valdez received her MFA in painting from Boston University in 2013. Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across the United States. Valdez’s work has been featured in Juxtapoz Magazine, New American Paintings, Booooooom.com, and Daily Serving
