Selected Tapestries from Magnolia Editions

Rena Bransten Gallery is pleased to present Selected Tapestries from Magnolia Editions with works by Don and Era Farnsworth, Rupert Garcia, Diane Andrews Hall, Doug Hall, Hung Liu, and Kiki Smith. Don and Era Farnsworth, artists and founders of Magnolia Editions, celebrate the time-honored medium of tapestry with a unique blend of old-world weaving processes and new digital technologies. The contemporary artists who collaborate with Magnolia Editions are drawn to Don and Era’s sense of experimentation and innovation, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of image making.

Hung Liu’s recent work, including the piece in this exhibition Dream Catcher, is after the dust-bowl era photographs of Dorothea Lange and continues Liu’s exploration of history, workers and migrants. Kiki Smith, whose practice revels in the possibilities of printmaking and multiples, collaborated with Magnolia Editions in 2011 to create a suite of three tapestry editions: Sky, Earth, and Underground.  Piacenza Opera House by photographer and video artist Doug Hall is based on a series of C-prints of the Teatro Municipale in Piacenza, Italy, and is an exploration of space, perspective, and spectacle. Don and Era Farnsworth deal with mythology and ideas of sacred space in their work; in Mythos I (Homage to Mantegna), the divine central element is omitted, stripping the work of any ideological agenda. Rupert Garcia’s hand embellished La Xochitl, meaning “flower” in the Aztec language Nahuatl, celebrates the 13-day period associated with the day Xochitl in the Aztec calendar. Diane Andrews Hall’s work depicts the natural environment with an acute interest in observing minute details and contemplative moments.