With Stitch and Thread - Expressionist and Contemporary Art Juxtaposed
Exhibition at the Museum August Macke House, Bonn, DE
06.03. – 07.06.2020

Using the numerous embroideries done by Elisabeth Macke, her mother Sophie Gerhardt, and her grandmother Katharina Koehler from drafts sketched by August Macke, our Exhibition for the first time examines embroidery in Expressionist art. Works from that epoch are brought together with significant pieces done by contemporary artists who have dedicated themselves to this special medium.

Expressionists like August Macke, who were part of Der Blaue Reiter circle, used embroidery to help their images exit the can-vas and become part of everyday use – the respective stitch was varied in keeping with the designated purpose. The embroidered pieces wed art esthetics to the needs of everyday living. In a revolutionary manner they transcend the dividing line between free and applied art. Meanwhile, Christian Rohlfs, Fifi Kreutzer, and Marta Worringer were fashioning elaborately stitched embroidery pictures to be framed and hung on walls like paintings.

What is it in this age-old and time-consuming technique that fascinates artists nowadays? It is no longer, nor has it been for quite some time, a matter of stretching conventional limits. Rather, embroidery is now understood as artistic expression in its own right, characterized by a special interface between received tradition and contemporary perspectives. 

 With stitch and thread, the tiniest pieces of art can be created as well as installations that engulf entire rooms. The treatment of the chosen medium allows for a broad spectrum of materials and a wide radius of content. Biographical, socio-political, and conceptual ideas can be implemented through many channels. Optical, haptic, and tactile effects play key roles, and thread length extends works into the spatial dimension. As artists test new media the very stitching and piercing of thread into the basis material can also be perceived as potentially aggressive. Two art works can simultaneously emerge from a single process when both sides of the image are viewed as independent works and their twofold creation intended from the outset.

more infomration: https://www.august-macke-haus.de/en/exhibition/current-exhibition/