In a material world (From Stroud News and Journal)

In a material world

STROUD House Gallery opens Stitched, an exhibition of art in cloth and material, this week.

"This exhibition is not connected in any way with the Stroudwater Textile Festival," curator Lynn Cluer-Coleman stressed, but the coincidence is a happy one, meaning that Stroud is subsumed in fascinating textile-based exhibitions this May.

In Stitched, performance artist Poppy Jackson will present a set of enigmatic charcoal drawings on muslin which will be washed and dried, creating animated 'curtains' which will be created during the private view.

Katherine Sullivan departs from her usual style of work with The Miller's Wife made in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. In this work she chooses to represent the feminine element of landscape by revealing the life of the miller's wife.

The fabric is presented as a kind of archaeology, fragments of material sandwiched between glass.

The traditional boundaries between sculpture and painting are diffused in the work of Anya Beaumont. These striking pieces, combining fabric and resin, are suspended and the shadows cast are drawn and made permanent.

Threads is a multi-monitor video and audio installation by Sophia Lycouris, a work informed by the artist's choreographic background.

The piece was originally created for the building of Victoria Mills (Derbyshire) which used to be a lace factory and is now being converted into flats.

Other artists include: Helen Owen; Barbara Phelps; Jayne Gaze; Sue O'Connell; Sadie Christian; Emma Skeldon and Laura Kingswood.

The exhibition runs at the gallery in Stroud's Station Road from Thursday, April 27 to May 26 and is open Wednesday to Saturday from 10.30am to 5pm or by appointment. Entry is free.