Artists Esther S. White and Jamie Williams present their textile, fiber and mixed media works in “Unbound: new work,” at the ECA+ Gallery, in a show running from Sept 6 to Sept 27. The opening reception coincides with the September Art Walk “Busking Central: Street Performers” on Sept 10 from 5 to 8 p.m. This exhibit is free and open to the public.
“Unbound” presents the fiber-based creations of White and Williams side-by-side. White transforms blank lengths of fabric into tangibly complex textile works. “I use printmaking and craft methods to explore themes of memory, time, and my dual identity as an Artist-Mother/Mother-Artist,” says White. Williams creates embroidered hooped canvases using a highly-focused and deliberate process, simultaneously reflecting on themes of anxiety and uncertainty. “I place a premium on my personal growth and development, and I want my artwork to reflect this internal movement,” she says.
Both artists explore pattern and abstraction, constantly pushing the boundaries between fine arts and decorative media. In [[1]], Williams punctuates bright and busy fields of color with areas of quietude, filling them with neatly-ordered, geometric and traditional patterns of ornamentation that suggest a blank spreadsheet or the pattern of the underlying canvas itself. In Esther’s quilts, opposing forces clash, creating beautiful secondary patterns where they intersect. In “A Measured Routine,” White joins a hand-painted motif with a screenprinted one, then irreversibly binds them to one another with a machine-stitched pattern. For White, this process mirrors her experience of motherhood – the constant need to start over, the decisions which cannot be undone – leading to the beautiful results that follow.
Esther White is an artist, curator, and community arts organizer living in Northampton, MA. She holds a BA in Art and Art History from Barnard College and has studied at the International Center of Photography in New York City. White teaches printmaking at Zea Mays Printmaking in Florence, MA, and at Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program in Williamsburg, MA.
Jamie Williams is an emerging fiber artist based in Easthampton, MA. She graduated from Smith College with a BA in 2015, majoring in both psychology and in art. She recently left her studio in Eastworks and now works from home.
The ECA+ Gallery is located in Easthampton’s Old Town Hall at 43 Main Street, Easthampton, MA. The gallery is open Tuesday through Thursday from 12 PM to 6 PM during Sept. For more information, see easthamptoncityarts.com, or the artists websites at www.estherswhite.net and www.jamielynnwilliamsart.com.
