Conjured Webs at La BEAST Gallery

Across town at La Beast Gallery in Cypress Park is a group exhibition of four contemporary weavers who are pushing the boundaries of weaving — each artist plays with what a weaving and its warp can do, stretching the possibilities of the form. Molly Haynes’ warps are made with a clear monofilament which contrasts the fibrous wefts that she employs to create detailed netting patterns. Large slits in her weavings allow for ruptures in    her delicate motif, a theme that Rachel DuVall picks up in her open-warp linen weavings which she hangs over painted abstractions, allowing muted color from the paintings to interplay with her textured lace. 

Zapotec weaver Omar Chávez Santiago employs his knowledge of traditional Oaxacan techniques of tapestry weaving and natural dying to create pieces that break away from history through large areas of open warp and shaped weavings that shirk a typical rectangular format. Mia Weiner’s Jacquard-woven tapestries are pictorial, often featuring nude women who candidly pose among foliage or house plants. Here too, Weiner welcomes ruptures to her imagery, as loose threads are invited to dangle freely below her intricately woven images. 

This exhibition highlights an exciting moment in fibers where weavers are committed to unconventional forms and pushing the boundaries of the medium through a contemporary lens.

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Photo: Molly Haynes, Changeling. Kenaf fiber and monofilament, 50 x 84 x 7 in. Image courtesy of La Beast Gallery.