July 8 – August 7, 2011

This exhibit presents work by Liz Alpert Fay, Leslie Giuliani, Tracy Jamar and Constance Old, artists whose works exemplify a 21st century approach to the highly traditional medium of rug hooking. The technique itself is used in personal and idiosyncratic ways as a means of personal expression and of broadening the perception of hooked fiber art.

Rug hooking’s mid-19th century origins are as a “craft of poverty,” one of few indigenous art forms practiced by women of the American northeast and the Canadian Maritime Provinces for the entirely practical purpose of household insulation. In addition to being a domestic activity, rug hooking helped strengthen community and social ties, for while creating their works, women often met together to exchange ideas and designs. Rug hooking eventually transformed over the course of the 20th century into a fine craft, and in recent decades hookers, like quilters, have begun exploring new approaches to the medium to create fine art objects.

Artists in this exhibit create works that expand the boundaries of the medium, by their use of vibrant color and unusual materials such as paper and plastic, their sculptural forms, and their emphasis on creativity rather than practicality. Yet in many of their works there are elements of and references to community and daily life—so important to their ancestral rug makers--in these contemporary works, from the reused plastic shopping bags and sales receipts employed by Constance Old to the recreated bedroom scene of Liz Alpert Fay, to cite two examples.

Special thanks to Diane Wright, David Wright,
Sherry Paisley, Newtown Hooked Art Shows

This exhibit is sponsored, in part, by NewAlliance Foundation

[click on thumbnails for larger view or
click here to download a list of artists and artwork]