The group exhibition Abstracting the Seam surveys the ways in which needleworking strategies permeate the painting, collage, video, textile, and installation art by seven contemporary artists whose work addresses the kaleidoscopic urban experience. Billboards, street posters, telephone poles, concrete mixers and burned out factories are some of the environmental imagery and content that weaves itself into the artwork presented in Abstracting the Seam.
Through geometric abstraction, the artists participate in a style of urban pattern-making that mimics traditional quilting structures passed down through generations. Using straightforward pattern, line, and repetition common in textiles, the artists featured combine hard-edged configurations with soft material in an attempt to define a physical, personal space within the sub/urban landscape.
The exhibiting artists in Abstracting the Seam were selected by Hyde Park Art Center Director of Exhibitions Allison Peters Quinn. The selection process arose out of the various opportunities for interaction and engagement between artists and the Hyde Park Art Center. Metalworker Shannon Kerrigan and quilter/painter Sarah Nishiura are Chicago-based artists who are members of the teaching artist faculty at the Art Center. The open submission process at the Art Center encourages artists from all over the country to submit their work for consideration, as was the case with emerging painter Hans Peter Sundquist (Chicago) and interdisciplinary artist Patrick McDonough (Washington, DC). Additionally, Art Center staff actively research thought-provoking art in new formats to exhibit, as in the case of collage artist and sculptor Christopher Michlig (Los Angeles), Andrew Rigsby (Chicago), who works in painting and new media, and paper and installation artist, Stacia Yeapanis (Chicago).
