Hyde Park Art Center Presents Turkish Artist Ani Afshar: Woven Gardens and Shredded Shadows
Turkish artist Ani Afshar’s striking hand-woven tapestries and tulle veil constructions will be on view at the Hyde Park Art Center from May 20 until September 2, 2012.Guest curated by Frank Connett (artist and conservationist) in consultation with Richard Born (Smart Museum, Senior Curator), the solo show will span decades of textile work by the artist. Woven Gardens and Shredded Shadows will reveal a selection of acclaimed landscape tapestries Afshar produced in the 1990s and new artworks and installations created by Afshar since her return to weaving in 2007 that are being shown publically for the first time.
Afshar began her relationship with the Hyde Park Art Center as an art teacher in the school over 25 year ago. The Art Center first exhibited her work in 1987 as part of a three-person exhibition also organized by Richard Born who then described her tapestries as “simultaneous works of independent beauty intended both for use and appreciation at the same time.” This foundation is re-kindled and expanded in the upcoming exhibition. This monographic show will focus on stylistic consistencies and remarkable bead work textile compositions from the 1990s to the present. Afshar will also debut a large wall relief installation made of found Turkish fabrics, tulle, beads, and wire that explore the disintegration of material over time, adding a temporal dimension to her work not present in her woven pieces.
Afshar’s multicultural upbringing inspires her beaded and woven contemporary artworks. Born in Istanbul, educated in Switzerland, and based in Chicago since 1975, Afshar draws on Eastern and Western traditions to craft her one-of-a-kind pieces. Afshar uses a range of color and diverse materials to create her artwork, which ranges from jewelry design to tapestries and installations. The artist became known for making one-of-a-kind wire jewelry in the 1990s, sold through her Lincoln Park boutique AniAfshar. Celebrated both in this country and abroad, Afshar’s textile and jewelry designs reflect artistic traditions from across the globe. In 2009 Afshar closed the boutique to devote her time to her contemporary artwork. She currently teaches Jewelry: Beads and Strings and Wires at the Hyde Park Art Center.
“Ani Afshar: Woven Gardens and Shredded Shadows” will be on view from May 20 to September 2, 2012 at the Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 South Cornell Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60615; 773.324.5520 and www.hydeparkart.org. Exhibitions are always free and open to the public.
The Hyde Park Art Center is at once a contemporary art exhibition space, learning annex, community resource, and social hub for the art curious and professional artists alike carrying out its mission to stimulate and sustain the visual arts in Chicago. The Art Center is funded in part by the: Alphawood Foundation;; Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts;; Chicago Community Trust;; a City Arts III grant from Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation;; Field Foundation of Illinois;; Harper Court Arts Council;; Illinois Arts Council, a state agency;; The Irving Harris Foundation;; Joyce Foundation;; Leo S. Guthman Fund;; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation;; MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince;; National Endowment for the Arts;; Polk Bros. Foundation;; Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust;; and the generosity of its members and people like you. The Hyde Park Art Center does not discriminate against any person for reason of race, gender, age, place of national origin, handicap, religious conviction, marital status, veteran status or sexual preference.
# # #
Tags: