Threadbare

New work by Marissa Falco, Lauren Leone, and Courtney McKenna

Threadbare, an exhibit of new works by Marissa Falco, Lauren Leone, and Courtney McKenna, will be on display at the Washington Street Art Center from December 7–28, 2013. 

Marissa Falco's most recent work reflects on the process of creating communities and building connections between individuals. She uses the medium of quilting to draw parallels between traditional quilting bees and forms of relating in the present day. As a quilt is constructed of different fabric patterns and textures, each member of a community brings elements of their own experience and history to the circle of which they are a part. Falco considers different ways in which she relates to various groups, and how she and other participants create a shared history by combining elements of their individual pasts. Forms inspired by geometry speak to the structure and stability that community relationships may provide to the individual.

Lauren Leone’s new work is a reflection on her recent health concerns and the multitude of doctor’s appointments she has attended in an attempt to find answers. By carefully rendering a portrait of each of her medical providers, Leone successfully gets all the doctors together in one room - a goal that a fragmented healthcare system makes virtually impossible. The slow, deliberate process of embroidering provides a sense of control and intimacy in the face of a system that often feels disempowering and alienating, and can leave the patient feeling frustrated and afraid. Equal parts tongue-in-cheek and careful reflection, Leone employs both humor and the meditative properties of embroidery to find catharsis.

Courtney McKenna uses subtle and elegant embroidery to explore the conceptual connections between the structure of a woman's body and the homes they create. Quiet and suggestive, McKenna combines traditional needlework techniques with naturally aged linens and unsophisticated cotton. These materials bring forth thoughts of cloth close to the body, and cloth close to the home. The artist's thousands of tiny, ornate stitches construct in density into vivid anatomical and structural illustrations. McKenna's work speaks to the energy and concentration we commit to things beyond ourselves, and the way structure of the body and home are manipulated.

In addition to the opening reception, the show will be on view from December 7-28. Gallery hours are Saturdays 12-4pm or by appointment.

www.washingtonst.org