paper, plastic ribbon, bottle
caps and other household
items into an abstract compo-
sition, and Fay’s
Just for Fun,
in which she uses balloons,
alongside other materials for
fringe-like effects. In
Summer
Dream Tea,
Missy Stevens
embellishes a delicate hanging
of a hooked pitcher with an-
tique beads.
The sculptural works in
the show are an even greater
challenge to the hooking tradi-
tion in not being rugs at all.
Inspired by topiary,
Everblue
by Mary Jane Andreozzi
is a shaped, spiraling tree ren-
dered surreally in brilliant
blues rather than green. Na-
ture stylized is also the subject
of Fay’s
Tree Skirt; Moss and
Lichen Series
#/©, a cartoonish
rendering of a tree stump
set on a “skirt” of variegated
moss. The vessel is represented
by Beth Kempf’s resplendent
Flowers Galore
and Molly
Colegrove’s colorful
Jester
Howl,
out of handspun yarns
and ribbons. Both Marilyn
Bottjer’s
Four Seasons on the
North Fork,
hooked scenic
foldout postcards and their
hooked box, and
Leave
and
Stay,
by Linda Rae Coughlin
(who also created
Pinned,
Pearled and O utoftheBox& ),
two pieces with feminist
messages staged in a recycled
suitcase, flirt with cuteness—
a danger in hooked work—but
avoid it through wit and mas-
terly execution.
“Rug hooking can be com-
pared to where the art quilt
movement was about 20 years
ago,” says Fay. Whether
hooked rugs have the poten-
tial for mass appeal enjoyed
for several decades now by
the quilt remains to be seen.
But such works as these,
clearly not meant for the floor,
may well inspire others to
find an expressive vehicle in
a once-humble art. —
b.s.
NJ / Glassboro
Rowan University Art
Gallery:
Decorative Resurgence
Apr. 20-May 28
rowan.edu/colleges/fpa/
artgallery
Metalwork and jewelry refer-
ences historical ornamenta-
tion and decoration, architec-
ture and textile patterns.
N Y /N ew York
Park Avenue Armory:
Sculpture Objects & Functional
A rt Exposition
Apr. 16-19
sofaexpo.com
Artists, collectors and the
curious mingle at
s o f a
New
York, a pulsating marketplace
for some of the world’s fore-
most galleries dealing in works
bridging the decorative and
fine arts.
© N Y /N ew York
Rubin Museum of Art:
Color & Light: Embroidery
from India and Pakistan
to May n
rmanvc.org
Drawn from the collections
of the Textile Museum of
Canada, 60 textiles from the
18 th century to the present,
including
Indian Woman’s
Headdress,offer
a fascinating
glimpse into the ethnic, reli-
gious and geographic diversity
of South Asia.
Penland School
o f
Crafts
Penland, NC
828.765.6211
www.pentand.org
Charity Hall
Entomology Collection
Enameled jewelry
