Lace, Not Lace

Book excerpt: A catalog of an exhibit held at the Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ, Sept. 23, 2018- Jan. 6, 2019. The exhibit displays contemporary fiber art made using lacemaking techniques, principally bobbin lace and needle lace. Forty-one works by twenty-eight artists representing eleven nationalities explore the range of effects possible from these very fluid textile techniques. Bobbin lace and needle lace techniques developed in the late 16th century and evolved rapidly with the demands of aristocratic fashion. No longer economically viable for use in apparel and housewares these sophisticated techniques are being used by artists in a variety of fibers and filaments in unlimited colors and textures to interpret their world. Lacemaking techniques are very mathematical in nature, appealing to artists with mathematical and scientific training. Many of the works in the show explore scientific subjects and philosophical questions posed by living in a highly technological society. This exhibit combines the work of contemporary lace pioneers of the lace revival of the 1970s with exciting new work by a generation of artists who were impacted by them. An essay, Czech Contemporary Lace and Mil¿a Eremiá¿ová, by Dagmar Beckel-Machyckova, tells the fascinating story of how Communism nurtured the Czech contemporary lace movement, providing a uniquely nurturing setting for creative lacemaking to flourish during the second half of the twentieth century. Lieve Jerger's essay, The Carriage of Lost Love 1977-2018 describes Jerger's work making a life size carriage in copper wire bobbin lace, a project that is still ongoing.Other artists include Manca Ahlin, Jane Atkinson, Daniela Banatova, J Carpenter, Choi+Shine, Jill Nordfors Clark, Pierre Fouché, Laura Friesel, Alex Goldberg, Maggie Hensel-Brown, Ágnes Herczeg, Ros Hills, Veronika Irvine, Nava Lubelski, Dorie Millerson, Penny Nickels, Wako Ono, E.J.Parkes, Lenka Suchanek, Lauran Sundin, Olivia Valentine, Nicole Valsesia-Lair, Denise Watts, Louise West and Ashley Williams.