"Tethered," a New Art Exhibit

“Tethered” is an exciting art installation currently at Ground Floor Contemporary art gallery, 111 Richard Arrington Jr Blvd South in Birmingham, Alabama. The work of three artists – Elaine Farley Kinnaird,  Anita Gómez-Ronderos, and Miriam Norris Omura – will be on exhibit, July 1-18. Gallery hours are Sundays 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. There will be an artist talk via Zoom Sunday, July 11 at 2:00 p.m., Central Daylight Time (check the gallery website for Zoom link and details).

 

 

My daughter, Elaine Kinnaird, is one of the artists featured. With her photographs, she offers us a peek at her exhibit and also a look into the process of creating art.

 

 

“I grow my cotton, pick, gin, spin and dye it,” she states on her Instagram post about the exhibit. “This piece is stained with turmeric. I like feeling like I'm really a part of the material process.”

 

So once she grew and harvested the cotton and after she hand spun it into yarn, she stained it to get the hues she wanted.

 

When she had the concept for her piece, she had to carefully plan how to execute it. Eye hooks were placed in one wall, measured and spaced with precision.

 

A hook on the adjoining wall anchors a metal ring that holds all the strands of yarn which then span out to the eye hooks on the other wall. 

The doors are open on Sundays from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Come see this and other works of art at Ground Floor Contemporary. If you can’t make it in person, log in to the Zoom Artist Talk on July 11 at 2:00 p.m.

To see more work by Elaine Kinnaird, check out her website at https://efkinnaird.wixsite.com/elainefarleykinnaird

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Fiber Artist Showcased in Montgomery

ASCA Gallery at the RSA Tower in Montgomery

The Alabama State Council on the Arts announced last week its closing reception “showcasing the work of our six 2018 Fellowship Artists. Sunday, July 29th 2:00-4:00 p.m. Gallery Talk: 3:00-4:00.”

The six artists honored were Scott Fisk, Elaine Farley Kinnaird, Miriam O’Mura, Charity Ponter, Jared Ragland, and Kami Watson. 

For those who missed the reception in Montgomery at the RSA Tower, I am showcasing the works of my daughter, Elaine Farley Kinnaird, here today.

As a fiber artist, Ms. Kinnaird works with various media to produce her art. Examples of her work can be seen at her website. 

"Pond"

As a recipient of a grant from the Alabama Council on the Arts, her work in Montgomery used fabric as the medium and resembled quilting. Each piece was made of pieces of fabric cut into different shapes and sewn together. 

"Broken Sea I" 

She stated in her talk that the shapes that came about in her installation were based upon drawings from shadows from her previous installation at Ground Floor Contemporary art gallery in Birmingham. The shadows were cast on the wall by the evening sun. She traced the shadows and saved the patterns which then evolved into her current exhibit.

In describing her work with shadows, the artist spoke of the importance of our being aware of what Carl Jung called our own shadow side.

"Broken Sky"

Ms. Kinnaird had seven pieces on display for the Alabama Council on the Arts. Four of the pieces hung like banners, while the fifth piece was a free standing sculpture. The sculptured piece was also made of fabric. 

"Broken Sea II"

Broken Earth I and Broken Earth II

She explained how she took the patterns from her “Broken Earth I and II” pieces and created a 3D fabric sculpture. She had to be innovative in designing a 3D fabric sculpture that would stand on its own. Her efforts paid off in that her fabric sculpture became the center piece for the entire show. 

  

Broken Earth III

Elaine Kinnaird holds an MFA degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (near Detroit). She is also a graduate of Birmingham Southern College and the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

The artist with her installation center piece
(Photo by Claire Keel)

More Gallery Shots

 

* All photos by Charles Kinnaird unless otherwise designated

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"Till We Have Faces" An Artist's View

This fall, from October 14 to December 12, my daughter Elaine had a solo art show at The Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, Alabama. The theme of her show was taken from C.S. Lewis' remarkable book, Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold. Elaine stated that if you know the book, you will get the art. Like any true artist, that is all the explanation we will get from her. It gives us a framework while allowing for our own intuitions/interpretations/gut responses.

If you know Lewis' book, you know that it is unlike anything else he wrote, and it touches depths of perception and lived experience that one may go through life without fully knowing. Lewis takes the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche and demonstrates to us in story how we can think we see the world as it is, only to have it upended and new insights revealed (if we are lucky). Do we understand what we see? Do we know another's motives? Do we know our own motives? How do the shadows play in our lives? What is true and enduring in our lives and relationships?

If you have not read Till We Have Faces, put it on your "must read" list. For a quick insight into what C.S. Lewis was getting at in the novel, read his poem, "As the Ruin Falls."

Till We Have Faces

Resident Artist at Ground Floor Contemporary, ASFA alumna, and Cranbrook Academy of Art graduate, Elaine Kinnaird presents 

textural interpretations and expressions in her exhibition, 

"Till We Have Faces."

Some Gallery Shots

Individual Exhibits

Ghost Net"

Detail from "Ghost Net"

"Pupa"

"Empty Space"

Detail from "Empty Space"

"Do We Touch?"

Detail from "Do We Touch?"

"Shadow Painting"

"Veil Triptych"

Detail from "Veil Triptych"

Detail from "Veil Triptych"

"Memory Bundle"

"Time Bundle"

The artist posing inside "Empty Space"

For more detailed information from this exhibit and for other works and exhibits by Elaine Kinnaird, visit her website at http://efkinnaird.wixsite.com/elainefarleykinnaird

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Art Exhibition Opening & Reception

Elaine Kinnaird Exhibition Opening & Reception is Friday, October 14

We are excited to present "Till We Have Faces", a solo exhibition by Elaine Kinnaird. Join us for the opening reception on Oct. 14th, 5-7. Or visit during gallery hours M-F, 8-4, through Dec 12th.

Resident Artist at Ground Floor Contemporary and ASFA alumna, Elaine Kinnaird presents textural interpretations and expressions in her upcoming exhibition “Till We Have Faces.” Meet the artist at the opening reception at 5:00 p.m.on October 14 in ASFA's Vulcan Materials Gallery & Lobby. No reservations are necessary, and it is free and open to the public.

See the exhibition at the Alabama School of Fine Arts’ Vulcan Materials Gallery, M-F from 8:30 am-4:00 pm, through December 12, 2016.

Address: 1800 REVEREND ABRAHAM WOODS, JR. BLVD., BIRMINGHAM, AL 35203

For directions, go to http://asfa.k12.al.us/apps/maps/

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