BRATTLEBORO — A new group exhibition at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) explores the diverse possibilities of the medium of felt, from felted family portraits to surreal felt furniture to giant, touchable felt sculptures.
On view in the museum's Wolf Kahn & Emily Mason Gallery, “Felt Experience” features works by Marjolein Dallinga, Ruth Jeyaveeran, Melissa Joseph, Liam Lee, and Stephanie Metz.
“'Felt Experience' can refer to understanding something through touch, and also to the deeply emotional responses evoked in the body by an object or place,” curator Katherine Gass Stowe wrote in a statement accompanying the exhibit. “This exhibition showcases artists whose work can be said to encompass both perspectives.”
BMAC will present several events in connection with the exhibit, including an artist talk on July 19, a curator walkthrough on July 21, and an online artist panel discussion on July 28. All three events are free and open to the public. Space is limited. Register at brattleboromuseum.org.
Stephanie Metz, one of the artists featured in the exhibit, will present a free talk about her work on Tuesday, July 19, at 7 p.m. at BMAC. A question and answer period will follow the one-hour presentation.
Metz will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the creation and public reception of “InTouch,” a series of large-scale, touchable felt sculptures, several of which are included in the BMAC exhibit.
Through slide images and lively descriptions, she will present her innovative approach to creating multiple felted wool and stitched industrial felt sculptures. She will talk about the human connections forged through engaging community volunteers to needle felt in her studio and inviting museum audiences to touch the sculpture.
Metz lives in San Jose, Calif. Her work has been included in the Rijswijk Textile Biennial, Sculptural Felt International, Black Sheep, FiberArt International, Formex Stockholm 2008, and Transmission:Experience at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore.
On Thursday, July 21, at 7 p.m., Katherine Gass Stowe, who co-curated the exhibit with BMAC Director of Exhibitions Sarah Freeman, will lead an in-person walkthrough of “Felt Experience.”
Gass Stowe is the founder and chief curator of James Company Contemporary Art Projects. She is the contracted curator for Bank of America's New York-Metropolitan Region and has been the curator for hotel properties worldwide. She has held posts at The Whitney Museum and the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. She holds a master's in the History of American Art Advocacy from New York University's Gallatin School and a bachelor's from Ohio Wesleyan University.
Freeman will lead an online panel discussion with all five of the artists featured in “Felt Experience” on Thursday, July 28, at 7 p.m.
In addition to Metz, the panel will include Dutch-born artist Marjolein Dallinga, who studied at Minerva Academy in Groningen, Holland, and now has a studio in Quebec; Ruth Jeyaveeran, a Brooklyn-based artist, designer, and assistant professor of textile and surface design at the Fashion Institute of Technology; Melissa Joseph, whose work has been shown in solo exhibitions at NADA Miami, RegularNormal, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; and Liam Lee, a New York-based artist and designer who has worked for the set designer Mary Howard, working with clients like Loewe, Dior, Versace, and Prada.
“Felt Experience” is on view at BMAC through Oct. 10.