Amanda Valdez: Piecework at The Heckscher Museum of Art
Amanda Valdez developed her method of making art while she was at graduate school and I’m so pleased that she did, because I was immediately blown away by the 19 works that make up the ‘Piecework’ exhibit which is currently on display at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntingdon, New York.
The title of the exhibit itself is clever, which curator Karli Wurzelbacher explained that she called ‘Piecework’ partly because Amanda literally pieces her different materials together to create her work.
Diamond Pressure, 2013
gouache, acrylic, embroidery, and canvas
The earliest piece in the exhibition, this painting demonstrates Valdez’s experimentation with different kinds of paint and incisive lines of embroidery. Bands of pale green gouache form a diamond truncated by the edges of the unprimed canvas. The artist describes this shape as ‘cradling’ the pooling acrylic paint at the centre. Thin lines of embroidery slice into the diamond at the corners, turning the four points inward. Just a few taut threads balance the energy of the swirling colours.
Whilst on an art residency Valdez visited the International Quilt Study Center and Museum to study quilts and had a moment of inspiration, wanting to experiment with the shapes that quilts make within her work.
“...quilts continue to gain prominence in the understanding of design history and working with abstraction... with the Gees Bend and pre-dating a lot of that early male European abstration.”
Valdez is always curious to see what will happen to each of the different materials that she uses when her work comes together. She creates her pieces by sewing textiles into the canvas and then stretches the canvas around the frame.
Thick as Thieves, 2014
fabric, acrylic, and canvas
Thick as Thieves renders the same pattern in two different materials; the squares above the sloping horizontal axis, while those below the line are fabric. In some areas, the checkered pattern continues readily across the divide. Elsewhere it shifts and skews.
The skills associated with quilt-making include; cutting, dyeing, painting, sewing and embroidery have traditionally been considered ‘women’s work’. Of course it will come as no surprise to learn that these skills are frequently overlooked and not usually included in the history of art.
Wild Child, 2019
embroidery, fabric, gesso and canvas
Wild Child presents an embroidered six-point star nesting within blue and maroon rectangles that are actually opposite sides of the same fabric. A ‘wild child’ of sorts, the star seems to playfully juggle to imperfect circles that threaten to roll off their pointy perches. Two pillowy block of eight-pointed stars support the structure.
Combining canvas with textiles and paint, the exhibit includes Amanda’s work from 2013 to 2019 and does a great job of showing how her practice has progressed. A glorious mixture of colour, shape and textures that are steeped in history, Valdez’s work is definitely a winning combination for me.
If you want to learn more, the Heckscher Museum has very helpfully put together a short playlist of videos about the exhibit, including a fascinating interview with Valdez.
Amanda Valdez: Piecework, on display until October 4th 2020 at The Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntingdon, New York. Find out more about the Heckscher Museum of Art on their website, including details of how to reserve a time to see the exhibit.