ANALOG CONSTANCE OLD
ANALOG
CONSTANCE OLD
“Paper and plastic interest me as abundantly available bers that not only re ect our time, but with imagination and coaxing can be made into ‘rugs,’ or at least wall pieces; Living in an era of material excess, it intrigues me to work in a medium that originated from need and a scarcity of materials.”
–Constance Old
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ANALOG by Constance Old Featured at the Lionheart Gallery New Exhibition opens on March 4, 2017 through April 30, 2017 The best shorthand for summarizing the deep and nuanced appeal to artist Constance Old’s 21st century version of rug hooking may be to summon three M’s—masterful alchemy of medium and message. The New Canaan artist creates pieces with attractive colors and patterns that magnetize viewers to draw closer, where the marriage of medium and technique dazzles. The work is made with mixed paper and plastic. It’s rug hooking using contemporary materials that results in three dimensional wall pieces commenting on the excesses of the consumer economy. The bases, or substrates of the woven works, are things like plastic tarps, disassembled polyester mesh bags, shopping bags, handbags, and construction fencing. “When you abstract it down, all you need is a grid and a strand to pull through the grid,” said the artist, who will be exhibiting a series of small works from March 4 to April 30, 2017 at The Lionheart Gallery in Pound Ridge, N.Y. (The opening reception is March 4, from 4 to 7 PM., with a snow date of March 5. A talk by the artist is scheduled for 4 PM April 8.) “For a long time I’ve made these smaller pieces in a series entitled ‘Filling the Void,’” explained Old, who received a Master’s of Fine Art degree in graphic design from Yale University, and worked as an art director for Martha Stewart Living and as a freelance book designer before committing full-time to making her own work. The “canvas” for these small experimental works is a 4-by-6-inch rectangle, with an oval in the middle that represents the void in the title of the series. They are created in the same way as her larger works, woven of contemporary materials on a grid or substrate. “To me they’re like little paintings,” the artist said. “Instead of working with paint, my medium is upcycled paper and plastic. Over the years I’ve probably made a hundred of them. I use them as a way to experiment, mostly with materials.” Each work is framed with an acrylic dustcover that “elevates them,” while also providing protection. The Lionheart Gallery Exhibit will feature 20 small pieces gathered under the title Analog, and the works will be presented on the gallery walls like a frieze, with 10 in one suite, six in another and four in a third. In February, Old was working on the series of 10, whose works are uni ed by two elements. “The substrate is this really cool woven plastic I got in Peru, and they almost all have an element of sea plastic or beach plastic washed up on the beach,” the artist said. “And Mylar balloons. An incredible number of Mylar balloons wash up on the beach.” The sea-washed plastic and balloons have unique distressed colors that she couldn’t create herself, the artist said, remarking, “There’s kind of an environmental comment and a formal comment [in the materials].”
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As for the substrate, while traveling in Peru with her brother the artist noticed a tarp akin to the bright blue ones used to cover things in the U.S. “Theirs are all woven in these incredibly beautiful stripes,” said the artist, who later bumped into a marketplace stall with bolts of these plastic tarps. She bought yards of the material to serve as the bases for new works. Each of the works in Analog comes with a swatch card delineating the materials used, and the origin of the substrate. There will be a few larger pieces by the artist on exhibit as an enhancement of Analog, along a work that is part of the artist’s J. Crew series. “I saw a skirt in the window of J. Crew years ago and the fabric it was made of was really great; linen and cotton with a Day-Glo pink stripe in it,” the artist recalled. “I thought, ‘I could rug-hook in the linen part and leave the cotton stripe exposed.” She bought the skirt, dismantled it and used it as her base. Four or ve years later, she found similar J. Crew skirts, one with a grey stripe that has been upcycled into an artwork and will be shown in conjunction with Analog as another commentary on consumer society. “Paper and plastic interest me as abundantly available bers that not only re ect our time, but with imagination and coaxing can be made into ‘rugs,’ or at least wall pieces,” Old says in her artist’s statement. “Living in an era of material excess, it intrigues me to work in a medium that originated from need and a scarcity of materials.” Constance Old has exhibited in galleries and museums around the country. Her work is in corporate and private collections throughout the U.S. and in Australia and Argentina. The artist’s website is www.constanceold.com. View ANALOG by Constance Old at the Lionheart Gallery opening March 4, 2017 and running through April 30, 2017, Wednesday through Saturday, from 11 AM to 5 PM, and Sunday from 12 noon to 4 PM. For more information and directions to the gallery at 27 Westchester Avenue in Pound Ridge, New York, visit www.thelionheartgallery.com or call 914 764 8689.
ANALOG
CONSTANCE OLD
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J. Crew Grey Stripe, 2016 Mixed paper and plastic on disassembled J. Crew skirt 27” x 27”
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J. Crew Revisited, 2011 – 2016 Mixed paper, plastic, wool and silk on construction fencing 41” x 56” x 4”
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J. Crew Revisited Palatte, 2011 – 2016 All materials used to make J. Crew Revisited
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Beach Plastic # 1: Filling the Void: Grey + Aquamarine, 2017 Mixed paper, plastic and ribbon on woven plastic 7.5” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Beach Plastic # 2: Filling the Void: Brown, Pink + Aquamarine, 2017 Mixed paper and plastic on woven plastic 7.5” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Beach Plastic # 3: Filling the Void: Black + White Border with Dayglo Center, 2017 Mixed paper, plastic and ribbon on woven plastic 7.5” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Beach Plastic # 4: Filling the Void: Pink Border with Speckled Pink + Brown Center, 2017 Mixed paper, plastic, shoelace and wire on woven plastic 7.5” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Beach Plastic # 5: Filling the Void: Blue Border with Blue Center, 2017 Mixed paper and plastic on woven plastic 7.5” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Beach Plastic # 6: Filling the Void: Purple + Gold with Green, White, Yellow Center, 2017 Mixed plastic on woven plastic 9.25” x 7.5” x 2.5”
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Beach Plastic # 7: Filling the Void: Blue Border with Opalescent Center, 2017 Mixed plastic and twine on woven plastic 7.5” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Beach Plastic # 8: Filling the Void: Orange + Green with Blue Center, 2017 Mixed plastic, twine and ribbon on woven plastic 7.5” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Beach Plastic # 9: Filling the Void: Black, White, Red + Orange with Woven Center, 2017 Mixed plastic and thread on woven plastic 7.5” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Beach Plastic # 10: Filling the Void: Red + Yellow with Black Center, 2017 Mixed plastic on woven plastic 7.5” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Filling the Void: Black, White, Orange + Red 1, 2017 Mixed ribbon, paper, plastic, ink and paint on drycleaner bag 9.25” x 7.5” x 2.5”
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Filling the Void: Black, White, Orange + Red 2, 2017 Mixed ribbon, paper, plastic, shoelace, ink and paint on drycleaner bag 9.25” x 7.5” x 2.5”
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Filling the Void: J. Crew Skirt with Black Stripes 1, 2017 Mixed ribbon, paper and plastic on disassembled J. Crew skirt 9.25” x 7.5” x 2.5”
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Filling the Void: J. Crew Skirt with Black Stripes 2, 2017 Mixed ribbon, paper and plastic on disassembled J. Crew skirt 9.25” x 7.5” x 2.5”
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Filling the Void: Black, White + Green, 2016 Mixed paper and plastic on disassembled shoe bag 9.25” x 7” x 2.5”
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Filling the Void: Brown Border with White + Silver Center, 2017 Mixed paper and plastic on woven plastic 9.25” x 7.5” x 2.5”
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Filling the Void: Ica Green Center, 2015 Mixed paper on brown packing paper 7” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Filling the Void: Nepali Paper + Orange Center, 2015 Mixed paper on brown packing paper 7” x 9.25” x 2.5”
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Filling the Void: Orange Fuzz 1 (Center), 2015 Mixed paper and plastic on drawer liner 9.25” x 7.5” x 2.625”
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Filling the Void: Orange Fuzz 2 (Sides), 2015 Mixed paper and plastic on drawer liner 7.5” x 9.25” x 2.625”
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Sampler: White with Buttons, 2011 – 2013 Mixed paper and plastic on monks cloth 30.25” x 18.75” x 2.5”
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Rome in Plastic (S. Prudenzia), 2008 Mixed papr and plastic on green nylon mesh 11.5” x 20.5” x 2.75”
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Celebration: Blue, Green, Brown + Gold, 2015 Mixed paper on brown packing paper 8.25” x 9.75” x 2.5”
ARTSY EDITORIAL
BY DOUGLAS P. CLEMENT
LIONHEART FIVE AN INTERVIEW WITH CONSTANCE OLD
interview by gallery director susan d. grissom
This catalogue was published to accompany the ANALOG Exhibition at The Lionheart Gallery. Constance Old ANALOG, March 2017 All images copyright of the artist. Images of the works are reproduced courtesy of the artist and The Lionheart Gallery. Curated by Susan Grissom Designed by Chelsea Walsh Press Release and Review by Douglas P. Clement All rights reserved. No part of this book may be produced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing of the copyright holder and The Lionheart Gallery. 914 764 8689 www.thelionheartgallery.com 27 Westchester Avenue, Pound Ridge, NY 10576