Textile Grammars, The Construction of Femininity
Seneca Space, Alicante, ES
23.05. - 02.07.2023

This exhibition aims to recover the works of art made by women, not only with embroidery, but also by introducing different techniques and textile materials that question the established stereotypes imposed on Art, highlighting the artistic procedures in Contemporary Textile Art and the pressures exerted by the feminist movement since the end of the 20th century and  Promote/Encourage and claim their rights as women, artists and activists.

Open to the public for free from May 23 to July 2, 2023 at Espacio Séneca, Alicante.

The Department of Culture of the Exmo. Alicante City Council presents the exhibition TEXTILE GRAMMARS, The Construction of Femininity in the Seneca Space.

In the 1960s and 1980s, feminist movements arose that used embroidery as a tool of resistance to vindicate the traditional work of women and express themselves against preconceived ideas about femininity.

Women play a fundamental role in using crafts as a form of resistance to limitations and disenfranchisement. After these demonstrations, many creators used textiles to claim their rights as women, artists and activists, and to erase the hierarchical separation between Art and the applied arts, as Rozsika Parker exposed together with Griselda Pollock in the key chapter of Old Mistresses; Women, Art and Ideology (1981).

“(…) If women’s embroideries have been rescued from the dungeons of “domestic art” to enter the main rooms of our art museums, this has been due, in part, to the pressures exerted by the feminist movement, that finally prevailed over old gender discriminations that were in force in the fine arts system.”(Shiner, 2004: 26)

The GRAMÁTICAS TEXTILES exhibition, The Construction of Femininity, focuses exclusively on contemporary textile works created by 16 Spanish artists and 1 international artist, all of them of recognized prestige.

It proposes a visual journey through the works that give prominence to traditional women’s techniques, such as embroidery, crochet or weaving, highlighting the different discourses of each artist linked to reflections on gender and their own identity…

Artists

Aurelia Masanet, Ana Musma, Carmen Castañeda, Concha Romeu, Elisa Ortega Montilla, Estefanía Martín Sáez, Lucía Loren, Natalia Auffray, María Muñoz, María Gimeno, María Ortega, Maribel Domenech, Maite Ortega, Sonia Navarro, Susana Guerrero, Sandra Paula Fernández and Yosi Anaya.

Organized in collaboration with the Exma. Provincial Council of Alicante together with María Ortega, curator of the exhibition, and general director of the X Contemporary Textile Art Biennial 25 years WTA, Madrid Spain 2022 and VIII International Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art WTA Sustainable City, Madrid Spain 2019.

It can be visited free of charge until July 2, 2023.

This exhibition is the first to be held in Alicante of these characteristics, betting on the gender vision of textile artists, disseminating traditional art combining it with the latest contemporary trends to thus open new creative horizons.

Credits:

Organized by: The Department of Culture of the Exmo. Alicante Town Hall
Organized and curated: Maria Ortega Galvez*
Exhibition design: Maria Ortega Galvez, Ainoa Martinez Lopez
Graphic design of the exhibition: Claudia Ospina
Collaborators: Ainoa Martínez López and Cora Froger
Transport and assembly: Valveart
Graphic printing: Continental JV
Gratitude: SENECA SPACE TEAM