JOANNA STANISZKIS, "The Silk Project," previews Oct 11 - 13; runs Oct 14 - 30, 2005, Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver
"Collaboration of the artist and silk moths"
Joanna Staniszkis, "Collaboration of the artist and silk moths," 2004, mixed media, 18" x 12" x 12".
JOANNA STANISZKIS, The Silk Project
Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver
Previews Oct 11 - 13; runs Oct 14 - 30, 2005
By Beverly Cramp
A major international textile artist and teacher for over 30 years, Joanna Staniszkis followed an urge to explore the origins of her working materials in recent exhibits. “It enriches my art,” says the artist, whose work hangs in buildings around the world and who has exhibited in many European and North American galleries. She began her exploratory work with one of her favourite materials, linen, which is made from flax. “I know flax intimately, from the seed to the fibre itself. Now I’m learning the behaviour of the silk worm.” Staniszkis raises silk worms from China on a plate in her Vancouver apartment. For her last show at the Elliott Louis Gallery, called The Linen Project, Staniszkis included huge pots of blooming flax plants. “I wanted to share some of my discoveries,” she says. Her upcoming show dealing with silk will display silk worms and mulberry trees along with contemporary interpretations of Chinese and Japanese influenced robes. “The robes will be graphic — black and white with splashes of colour.” Staniszkis leaves academia this year to concentrate on her artwork. “There are a few more fibres for me to explore,” she says with a laugh.
Represented exclusively by: Elliott Louis Gallery, Vancouver.
