 | Mary Giehl
Functioning Systems (detail), 2012
Crochet wool, needle and wet felted |
Mary Giehl
Functioning Systems
E. Avery Draper Gallery
June 1, 2012 - September 16, 2012
Wilmington, Del. - 1 June 2012 - The Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts announces the solo exhibition of Syracuse, New York, artist Mary Giehl titled Functioning Systems on view from June 1 - September 16, 2012. Giehl presents an installation of crocheted and felted wool that refers to the delicate, beautiful, and sometimes deadly organic world. Giehl will be present during a formal opening of the exhibition with gallery talks that will take place during the Friday, June 1, 2012 Art on the Town from 5 - 9 pm with gallery talks beginning at 6:30 pm.
Please contact Sara Teixido, Director of Marketing and Communications, at steixido@thedcca.org for images and information regarding this exhibition or related programs.
View the Functioning Systems exhibition page and download the exhibition PDF here:
http://www.thedcca.org/exhibit/functioning-systems
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About the exhibition_________________________ | Mary Giehl
Functioning Systems (detail), 2012
Crochet wool, needle and wet felted |
An important fact to know about Mary Giehl is that the artist was, for many years, a practicing nurse working with seriously ill and abused children in intensive care. This experience profoundly affected the direction of her art career. She has long examined the lives of abused and neglected children through her artwork. She has also worked with communities of young people as an artist-in-residence, both here in this country and abroad. Another important fact is that Giehl's first art degree is in fibers and that she began her artistic life as a weaver. She later earned a graduate degree in sculpture and moved on to other media, but never left behind her sensitivity to materials, whether they are etched metal, cast rubber, or cast bronze. This installation is based on a series of small mixed-medium pieces that were inspired by looking at micro-organisms, specifically those that contaminate drinking water, causing children around the world who are most affected by water quality to die. However, even without knowing any of this, as is the case in many of her bodies of work, the installation is visually powerful and exciting at the same time that it is extremely beautiful. The seductiveness of the organic forms and crocheted and felted wool loops belies their deadly origins. Here Giehl returns to her early interest in textiles. Crocheted strings can be pulled apart very easily. The felting joins them together permanently. The idea that deadly organisms are both powerful and delicate acts as a metaphor for all of life, but especially for the lives of children whose presence is most energetic and yet at the same time most fragile. - J. Susan Isaacs, PhD Curator of Special Projects Friday, June 1st - 6:30 pm
Join us for the June Art Loop as Mary Giehl discusses her exhibition A Functioning System.
About the Artist____________________________________
MARY GIEHL (Syracuse, NY)
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2009
Crystals, Gallery at the Ann Felton Multicultural Center, Syracuse, NY
Crystals 1, MOST, Syracuse, NY
A Moment in Time, First Street Gallery, Groton, NY
2007
The Unbroken Circle, Tyler Art Gallery, Oswego, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012
Project Alex, Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Auburn, NY
2011
Momentum, Marion Royael Gallery, Beacon, NY
Extreme Materials 2, Rochester Memorial Gallery, Rochester, NY
Functioning Systems, Exhibit A Contemporary Art Center, Corning, NY
New York City, Marion Royael Gallery, Beacon, NY
2010
62nd Exhibition of Central New York Artists, Munson Williams Proctor Arts Museum,
Utica, NY
Alejandra, Point of Contact Gallery, Syracuse, NY
Made in NY 2010, Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Auburn, NY
SELECTED GRANTS AND AWARDS
2012
Development Grant, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
2011
Rhode Island Visual Arts Sea Grant, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
2010
Special Opportunity Stipend, NYFA & the Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts
2009
Development Grant, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Special Opportunity Stipend, NYFA & the Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts
American Chemical Society, Syracuse, NY
SELECTED RESIDENCIES
2012 McColl Center for Visual Art's, Charlotte, NC
2009 I-Park Artist Residency, East Haddan, CT
2007 Artist-in-residency on the Isla Santay, Guayaquil, Ecuador
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Guided Tours
To arrange Guided tours for DCCA exhibitions, contact the Education Department at 302-656-6466 x7101. Learn more about DCCA's tour programs:
http://www.thedcca.org/content/guided-tours
About the DCCA
The DCCA, a non-collecting art museum founded in 1979, presents between 25 and 30 exhibitions annually of regionally, nationally, and internationally recognized artists that explore topical issues in contemporary art and society, as well as symposia, lectures and tours. The DCCA rents individual studios to more than 25 artists, who also exhibit regularly within its galleries and throughout the region. The DCCA presents a variety of educational and outreach programs, including programs that integrate contemporary arts into the public school curriculum, and artists' residencies that feature collaboration with underserved community groups. The center is housed in a renovated industrial building at 200 South Madison St. in the heart of the rejuvenated Wilmington Riverfront.
DCCA gallery hours are:
10 am - 5 pm Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Noon - 5 pm Wednesday and Sunday
Admission is FREE
302-656-6466
www.thedcca.org
The DCCA is wheelchair-accessible.
Visitors with special needs are encouraged to call in advance.
DCCA exhibitions and programs are made possible, in part, by individual contributions; member support; and by major grants from Bank of America, Borgenicht Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, DuPont, ING DIRECT, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware in partnership with National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by The Christmas Shop Foundation; Delaware Humanities Forum, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities; The First State Gridiron Board; The Gilliam Foundation; I Could Do Great Things Foundation; Puffin Foundation; United Way of Delaware; Walmart; Wilmington Flower Market; and by Amtrak - Official Transportation Provider for the DCCA.
High resolution images available upon request.
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CONTACT
Sara Monserrat Teixido
Director of Marketing and Communications
Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts
200 South Madison Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
302-656-6466 x7110
steixido@thedcca.org
 
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