A fiery exhibit at the Foyer Gallery comes just in time for Valentine's Day. The Cutting Edge Art Group presents a collaborative collection glowing with red-hot intensity. Fifteen sizable scarlet, crimson or ruby wall hangings of fibre-based mixed media interpret a variety of aspects of the hot and passionate colour "Red."
In the cases, the theme of "More or Less Red" is a gathering of small artworks in various media, including textile and jewelry pieces.
The 15-member group itself is largely inspired internally and through active development as artists. These "edgy" members practice and teach each other a multitude of methods and media, including fabric dyeing, quilting, felting, weaving, encaustic, glass bead making, printmaking and painting.
The "Cutting Edge" first started exhibiting together as a group in 2001 on the North Shore. The group has experienced an evolution since that initial formation. They began solely as an ensemble of art quilters, but soon their creative attention began to unfurl and, ever since, the spirited group has been enthusiastically exploring a multitude of media.
The Foyer Gallery showcase was inspired by a creative challenge to interpret the phrase "Read as Red." All the finished pieces are linked by red - the colour of passion, fire, danger, anger and warmth - an imaginative blend of graphics, representative imagery, symbolism and satire.
A delegate for the group says, "We all share roots in art textiles, but work in many media united by an appreciation of texture and colour." Their creative process is a three-part system: they work as individuals, do workshops in small groups and then meet monthly to critique and exchange information.
The "Edgers" use colour to create unity. Bold textiles play a key role in presenting a cohesive group collection and when I asked them where they were headed, I wasn't surprised to hear that they were moving to the opposite side of the colour wheel for a future endeavour: "Our next challenge will be to produce a body of work based on lime green, including three-dimensional elements."
Many passions inform this dynamic group's interests and individual work including running and hiking local trails, gardening, reading and travel.
This sizzling exhibit is on display at the Foyer Gallery through March 4.
For more information contact Jennifer Cooper at [email protected], or visit www.cuttingedgeartgroup.blogspot.com/
Toby Jaxon is curator of the Library Foyer Gallery. She can be reached at [email protected]
