Craft / “Connection Point – contemporary established fibre textile artists of ACT and NSW” at Canberra Museum and Gallery. Reviewed by MEREDITH HINCHLIFFE.

WORKS in this exhibition are drawn from ACT-based artists, including those represented in the Canberra Museum and Gallery collection, and artists based in NSW.

In Canberra, we have many of Australia’s leading artists who work in textiles, in part due to the Textile Workshop at the ANU School of Art and Design.

Keiko Amenomori Schmeisser is a leading artist working in shibori – she is also an expert with indigo dye. Amenomori’s cultural roots are in Japan, and she draws on these in her work. Two magnificent panels reflect her skill and her knowledge. “Nightfall” is a shibori work, in indigo dye on linen. While it is flat, Amenomori has manipulated the shibori, so that it appears to be a kimono, hanging on the wall. It is a large work and sits well with a similarly large work, “Rising Gold”. This work has a rich gold surface, with the two lower corners caught together at the base. This is a stunning work.

An outstanding work from the CMAG collection is by the late Dorothy Herel with Paule Pratten. The late Gaynor Cardew made moulded paper – probably from banana – silk and linen that Herel formed into two garments made for a dance performance. These two works are reminiscent of traditional Japanese costumes, with block-like sleeves and panels. They are beautifully designed and made.

Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello is showing two works from hot-blown and kiln-formed glass bound together with sedge reeds raffia. This is a fascinating combination of glass and fibre.

The artists from NSW form a group titled Untethered Fibre Artists Inc. A group exhibition held in 2022/22 travelled in NSW and several works are included in this current exhibition.

Desdemona Foster is exhibiting “Nightly Ritual”, a free-hanging work. We are told the work documents a signature of time, place, state, feeling and evidence. The work is predominantly in black and white hand stitched, pieced digital prints squares. Small red stitches highlight two intersecting rows of large crosses that cross this enigmatic work. I found the fragments of images on the squares disturbing and perhaps this feeling is emphasised by the lack of colour.

In contrast, Cathie Griffith is showing a work titled “Bowerbird for Red”, in recycled fabric, found objects, gimp, wire, and thread. A self-acclaimed bowerbird, Griffith uses stitch and paint to bring disparate materials together in an organic way. Many artists collect found objects for their work, and this direct connection to the bowerbird seen in the bush reminds us all that most artists have deep concerns for the environment.

This is a big exhibition. Large works have come out from the collection, and it is a pleasure to see them. It also shows how strong ACT-based textile art is.