ON GROWTH AND FORM at the Textile Museum of Canada (55 Centre) to October 11. 416-599-5321. Rating: NNNN
artists are obsessing abouttechnology.It’s a fascination that makes perfect sense, considering that artists work with materials on very concrete terms all the time. But it’s still a little unexpected to find a highly conceptual show curated by edgy young artists that draws strong parallels between their practice and the work of industrial engineers.
Installation artist Evelyn von Michalofski, textile artist Rachel MacHenry and architect Philip Beesley have pulled together On Growth And Form, an exhibit that riffs off the writings of pioneering biomathematician D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson and includes pieces as diverse as the experimental hand-weavings of Ann Richards and the mass produced Expandogram toys of Chuck Hoberman.
Not to mention the gossamer-thin, wandering-warp-and-weft fabrics of Sophie Roët, over-the-top textiles that have found favour with A-list avant-garde designers including John Galliano and Alexander McQueen.
The very best displays are those that unabashedly deal with hard science, notably the cell slurries (skin as cloth!) of Toronto-based Apotex Research, and the soil-nurturing geotextiles of Canadian outfit Terrafix Geosynthetics.
Though flawed in its execution, it’s utterly inspirational in its ambition.
