KONTEMPO Exhibition 2017Contemporary Textiles
This is KONTEMPOs second group exhibition, and it examines the question IsThisKnit? All works challenge the notion of knit by utilizing the inherent properties and qualities of both material and technique. The works show vast diversity and use the core characteristics of knit as we witness the emergence of form and material in one singular process. Texture and structure become architecture, interlocking loops grow into narratives and whilst working both with and against softness, elasticity, gravity, weight and lightness new interpretations of what knit is, appear. As a whole, the collected works do not only express certain things they also seek to develop and expand the field of knitting adding tactile knowledge, new expressions and show the unlimited potential of knit in an exuberant variety of applications.
We invite you; the audience to question what knit is, to discuss and to engage with the works.
KONTEMPO seeks to open the field of textiles and to show the multifaceted approaches to the area. With the exhibition IsThisKnit? the stitches have been cast and the yarn is unfurled for further dialogue…
The untitled piece is a textile relief. Knitted forms grow out of the canvas, that serves as a base for the work. The hand-knitted shapes are used to create a "painting without paint". Forming, sculpturing and playing with the yarn, trying to challenge the yarn and use it in other contexts than usually known. Texture, color, and expression are highlighted and the hair as a material is used as a more smooth and lively paint stroke.
Materials Wool, polyester filling, artificial hair
In Stabil Fragil each knitted element is made of left-over yarns from own garment production, thereby giving the waste materials a chance of a new, beautiful life. Therefore no element is alike, each is knitted using ends of yarn or thread in different colour shades and textures. Each element is suspended in a unison in a united structure. The eye will see the knitted structure, the web-like form - but will also notice the void between the fragile threads, the space in between. Is this knit?
Materials Various yarns and fibers, production left-overs
In Furry Fountain, the yarn as material is isolated, highlighted and explored. The yarn itself without function. Yarn can be matte, glossy, natural or synthetic – it can be soft, keep you warm or scratch. Furry Fountain is a shape, a fountain of colors and textures. The yarn is rising from the floor and fills the room with its volume and material expression – accumulation of yarn in various materials and colors that appeal to the senses and perhaps induces memories.
Materials Yarn in different colors and qualities
The Engineered Body collection merges new knit technology, functionality, physiology yet aesthetical design through a holistic and responsible mindset. This knit collection incorporates insights and discoveries from fields as neuroscience, physiology, material and technology innovation. The project aims to challenge the regular, visual and sensual perception of what knit can be. Collaboration partners; Physiotherapeut Christina Vestergaard, Kolding Fysioterapi. Santoni Knitting Machinery co. LTD. Shanghai.
Materials Eco coolmax nylon 6.6, bare lycra and cover Lycra
In Hovin – the textile artist questions how the body can meet the knit in another way. In front of the body. As an object. Non-wearable. Hovin is an abstraction of hands. The reminiscence. Making all the “mistakes”; turning at the wrong time, unintentionally increasing, decreasing… having no control, creating by the hands. In this process, the artist gradually becomes aware of herself as a maker. Being able to sculpture through the knit. Letting the object becoming its own.
Materials Cotton thread, knitted velour, polyester filling
Ode To Sponge celebrates the trivial through an experimental approach to the concept of a kitchen sponge. It can - contrarily - be observed in a completely different way - as a complex tactile sculpture. The hand-knitted objects seek to visually challenge what a sponge can be made of and thereby look like. The one thing that links them together is that they are all constructed by knitting - just like the kitchen sponge. Hence the project strives to awaken a sense of recognition yet alluring aspects of oddness.
Materials Foam; fur and Wool, Fabric; latex and wool
The piece Suspended Carvings #1 endeavors to acquire and transpose the essence of knitting into an alternate material. The carved wooden blocks are suspended and united by each other to form a piece that mimics a familiar structure often found in the world of knitting. The multiples of blocks interlock and unite as one piece, mimicking the attributes of a knitted form and posing the question……what is, or…… IsThisKnit?
Materials Beech
Subjecting Matter is a video graphic documentation of a series of sculptures, created by a type of knitted construction matter, tightened in 5 different compositions. In the video, each composition is subjected to another matter in time through repeating sound loops.
Note: the image above is a still from the video.
Materials Metal, concrete, plaster, mason cord, water, color dye, potato flour, light, fire.
The sculptural object, Moving it, shows the flexible properties of knitting in relation to a captured, fixed shape. The small undulating and soft curves in the knitting part that is fixed in position appears differently with the inflow of light and movement of the surroundings. The accumulation of the knit creates layers and negative space, that makes the knit even more perceptible because it has a sculptural feeling.
Materials Merino wool and liquid polyester
The Knit Pool is a sculptural installation including a video projection. The 3 sculptures and the video show glimpses of fibers and patterns, reflections of the aftermath of a foamed knit, inverted patterns - capturing knit in different materials so that only fragments of the entirety of the knit piece surfaces. Represented in various materials such as isinglass and soap - creating blurred transparency, a composition of colors and movements that occurred whilst creating the sculptures.
Materials Water, soap, isinglass, knit: wool, cotton yarn
(Un)controlled aims to explore knit in relation to space, focusing on pushing the boundaries of traditional knit using unconventional materials. Traditional knitting is known as a very controlled technique that does not leave much room for coincidences to happen. Loops and loops are placed next to each other, controlling the outcome. These works show what knit can look like when one lets go of that control. The three-dimensionality is an outcome of the interaction between material and technique.
Materials Monofilament, stainless steel, lurex (shiny polyesteryarn)
Let The Stitches Run – The solar power x-ray project examines the fine stitches nylon stockings are made of. To capture the fragments of the broken stockings, the material is placed into an X-ray process only created by the power of the sun. The technique is Cyanotype print - and by a special chemical recipe, it is possible to create blue contact prints induced by the UV rays of the sun. This method captures the fine details of the threads and the layers of transparency in the material.
Materials Cyanotype blueprint, plexiglass, LED light, overhead transfer prints
Petrified questions the definition of knit. What happens to the perception of knit when it loses its essential characteristics? Can we still call it knit? It examines the soft and malleable characteristics of knit and highlights the contrast between the soft expression of the knit and firmness of the plaster. The Cloth is a hanging vertical element. The gravity pulls the masks down, which helps to emphasize the shape. The deck is a supine object that shows the soft expressions of the material and technique.
Materials Cotton and plaster
Loopy is inspired by a basic knitting stitch, enlarged countless times so that the work appears oversized and out of proportion, like a comical delusion of grandeur and appears as an imitation of knit, the shape and form of the module.
Materials Crushed velvet knit, popped polystyrene filling
The most obvious question in Candle Knit would be; Is this a candle? But the question is; Is this Knit? It is answered by the viewer with a note from the exhibitioner- things is not always what it looks like visually. If form follows function, what happens if it doesn´t. The temptation to find out is restricted by safety. This is an art piece don´t put on fire, please.
Materials Candle tread, stearin, brass
AERO #5/red and AERO #5/blue interprets the question IsThisKnit? in a referential circumstantial manner. Circumstantial in its inherent question, referential as it plays with an art historical approach in objectifying the work through a referential question. These two tapestries combine the above in a representation of knit by printing a simple but original piece of knit combining origin (craft) with transformation through representation into the concept of knit (art).
Materials Velour, pigment, silkscreen
The collages Shapes explore the properties of knit. The textures, the stitches, the gauge and the softness. But leaves out the sense of touch. Knit as paper adds a static value to its appearance. The collages appear like fantasy knits. Knitted fantasy sculptures, that makes you stop and think twice. They question how knit reacts and looks in another media and maybe at the first glance, the viewer will not see that all the elements are knitted.
Materials Cutouts from magazines and paper
Pleated Proposal is a study of the qualities of spacer fabric - a 3D knitted textile - as a sculptural element in a spatial context. This material is not visually what you associate with traditional knit. The fabric, knitted structure, and volume catch light in various ways and it appears transparent and massive at the same time. The proportions of the installation do not dictate a specific function and give another perspective on the appearance of knitted fabric in a spatial context.
Materials Spacer fabric, serafil, and pine wood
Photographer: Cornelia Gramkow
