TEXT/ILE

Curated by Kat Buckley

APRIL 3–21 2017

There is an inherent relationship between handmade books which are sewn using fibers, sometimes on chords, and the sewing of garments. In addition to this extrinsic relationship, paper is itself a fiber. Text/ile examines the history of imparting information through fabric in artists' books, as well as different paper manufacturing techniques.

This special exhibition will take place at The Stolbun Collection on

Monday April 3, 12 pm  to 2 pm
Tuesday, April 4, 10 am to 12 pm
Thursday, April 6, 2 pm to 4 pm

Monday April 10, 12 pm  to 2 pm
Tuesday, April 11, 10 am to 12 pm
Thursday, April 13, 2 pm to 4 pm

Monday April 17, 12 pm  to 2 pm
Tuesday, April 18, 10 am to 12 pm
Thursday, April 20, 2 pm to 4 pm

Curator and book artist Kat Buckley will be on-site at The Stolbun Collection to assist in book handling and questions regarding different bookmaking techniques. The books displayed on each date will vary, but every batch will be displayed in the Stolbun alongside Thomas Huston's Standard Moving Blankets for The Stolbun Collection to enable a conversation around the usage of fibers in contemporary art. 

During the remainder of the exhibition of April 3 - April 21, the books can be found and interacted with at the Joan Flasch Artists' Books Collection at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.* The JFABC is open to the public. Visitors are encouraged to experience the exhibition at both sites, if possible.

In addition to its educational mission and focus on the materials and craft of the book, this exhibition asks what happens to artwork when a facilitator's presence is needed to activate it. Text/ile encourages viewers to think critically of the role of facilitators in public interactions with contemporary art, and asks what the absence of facilitators would mean when they are tied to the presence of the artwork. 

Kat Buckley is based in Chicago, Illinois, where she is earning her Masters of Art in Modern & Contemporary Art History at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She works as a Gallery Assistant for the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as a Graduate Curatorial Fellow for the Institute of Curatorial Research and Study at SAIC. She graduated cum-laude from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a Bachelors of Fine Art in Art History and concentrations in Book Arts and Curatorial Studies. Her writing focuses on modern textile and tapestries and on contemporary female artists and collectors.

*Please note that the JFABC is closed on Sundays.