If Walls Could Talk

The Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery is proud to present If Walls Could Talk. A two-person exhibit with Shannon Kaye and Margaret Timbrell. The exhibit runs from November 10 through December 3, 2016 with an artist’s reception on Thursday, November 10 from 6-8PM.

Shannon Kaye’s work in this exhibit is about the connection between our environments and the stories created within those spaces that define our lives and decorate our memories. The works in this exhibit examine our human need to find and create order in everything from the repetitive shapes and color patterns we decorate with to the habits and rituals we develop to move us through our days, sometimes consciously, sometimes not.

Many of the writings on her pieces are narratives; flashbacks of relationships and reflections echoed by the depth and murkiness of color, the uniquely layered mix of decorative patterns and themes that feel both refreshing and familiar. As an extension of this focus on interior spaces, the paintings are done on salvaged plywood panels and used furniture, which are prepared with common home improvement tools and mediums from latex paint and furniture wax to trowels and paint rollers. The work appears balanced, colorful, even pretty, at first glance. But a closer look reveals rich contradictions with landscapes that mark time and texts that seems to float through space. Hopeful affirmations, elegant lines, and optimistic colors are wedged against rough edges, tattered patterns and tempered lettering.

Showing concurrently is work by Margaret Timbrell, from her series Autocorrect Fails. Timbrell is interested in the idea of repurposing items in our throw-away society. While scouring Goodwill stores for baby items she came across unopened Sunset Stitchery Stich Kits. Additionally, she has been keeping a special diary dedicated to the autocorrect fail that she receives from family and friends. She finds it entertaining how autocorrect inserts itself into our lives, at times altering real words to other words, changing the entire meaning of a conversation. There is a sense of the absurd in this but also she is exploring the deeper meaning of how technology inserts itself and redirects our lives. Working on the preprinted cloth from these kits Timbrell needlepoints the phrases over the top.

She enjoys the relationship almost everyone has to needlework- an Aunt or Mother or Grandmother who stitched- and the joy with which people share these memories. It’s an interesting, mostly female, history, however, needlework also has some very current ties to technology. The binary code in computer programming was first developed for the punch cards used in knitting/weaving machines. Needlework and textiles occupy an odd world somewhere between craft and art, human and technology. Also inspired by pop culture, both low brow and high brow, Timbrell combines this very traditional craft with referential phrases and autocorrect errors to bring together these different worlds and mediums.

The exhibit will be open to the public Wednesday-Saturday, 12:00PM-6:00PM and by appointment Nov 10 through Dec 3, 2016. Check the website for additional hours and events. Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, 3620 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, CA 94549. Contact Jennifer Perlmutter at (925) 284-1485 or jp@jenniferperlmuttergallery.com