CREASE: solo exhibition by Karla Nixon

StateoftheART is delighted to present Karla Nixon's first solo exhibition with the gallery, CREASE. The show opens on Saturday 17th of April and continues till the 1st of May 2021.

Paper and fabric are used for quite different purposes but share common physical characteristics which are highlighted in these works. In CREASE, Nixon recontextualises textiles through a reinterpretation of their essence in paper. This body of contemporary abstract work is both precise and poetic.

"Textiles, like paper, are so prevalent in every part of our lives; they adorn our homes, our offices, our bodies and have significance in almost every important moment in our lives.

Textiles can be an expression of self, a signifier of culture, of wealth, and embody and evoke memory. They can be both beautiful and mundane, embellished or plain - and have the ability to provide both comfort and discomfort. Textiles have an immense power: to be invisible and overlooked while simultaneously important. They are fundamental to our existence - yet the industry is destructive, both socially and environmentally. It is these dualities that were instrumental and inspired this body of work.

The assemblage of torn pieces creates a play between traditional and contemporary themes. I have used or alluded to traditional techniques used in textile creation - but attempted to push beyond the confines of textiles by paring back, zooming in, sculpting, abstracting - and working with a material not associated with the craft. Paper and fabric are used for quite different purposes but share common physical characteristics which are highlighted in these works. In CREASE I attempt to recontextualise textiles through the reinterpretation of their essence in paper. Finding beauty in the grids, patterns, weaves and sculptural nature in something as common as a piece of fabric.

Paper is central to my practice because of its fragility, its everyday usage, its recyclability, and because it is one of the most consumable commodities of our time. The magic and malleability of the medium is incomparable and is fundamental to my approach.

These latest works depart from the comfort of the white page which has become synonymous with my aesthetic, as well as a major shift from figurative to abstract. I have attempted to introduce bold explosions of colour created with washes of acrylic paint. Even with the introduction of paint and colour the materiality of the paper is still in the fore, creating colourful, textural tapestry-like abstract work. The work is defined by acute concentration and care, it gives primary importance to the physicality of the material."
- Karla Nixon   

See photos from the Opening Event here
or
View Karla's portfolio of available work