THE PIONEERS OF FIBER ART IN FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA
EXHIBITION OF THE WORKS OF ARTISTS GINA MORANDINI, MARIA TERESA ONOFRI, LYDIA PREDOMINATO – FROM SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER AT THE GALLERY OF CONTEMPORARY TEXTILE ART GINA MORANDINI, CURATED BY “LE ARTI TESSILI”
Aug. 26, 2023
Exhibition opening at 5:30 p.m.
Exhibition opening
Special opening for “Knife in Feast” on Sunday, Aug. 27
10 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
From Sept. 2 to Dec. 16 every Saturday afternoon
3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Guided tours and workshop activities
By reservation by writing to segreteria@leartitessili.it
Le Arti Tessili APS
Via Carso, 4 – 33085 Maniago (PN)
segreteria@leartitessili.it
www.leartitessili.it
After a short summer break, Gina Morandini Gallery of Contemporary Textile Art reopens to the public on Saturday, August 26 at 5:30 p.m. with the opening of a new exhibition dedicated to three pioneers of Fiber Art: Gina Morandini, Maria Teresa Onofri and Lydia Predominato.
The three artists from Friuli Venezia Giulia, were among the first to express themselves with the textile medium and are, without any doubt, a well-known reference in the world of International Textiles with recognition coming from many cultural circles.
In this exhibition, we will see them together again after 25 years since the “Fiber Art” exhibition that saw them exhibit in three prestigious venues: an exciting moment then, which will allow us to compare, a quarter of a century later, the work of the artists.
Gina Morandini (San Giorgio di Nogaro UD 1931, Campoformido 2021), after a fruitful career as a teacher, researcher and artisan, became passionate about Fiber Art in the 1980s, experimenting with materials, techniques and new expressive languages. She is credited with founding the Association Le Arti Tessili in 1987 and establishing in 1995 the Premio Valcellina International Competition of Contemporary Textile Art dedicated to young artists under 35. In the exhibition it will be possible to contemplate some of the works she produced, which were not exhibited on the occasion of the Gallery’s opening, an occasion on which an extensive monograph was dedicated to her.
Maria Teresa Onofri (Pordenone 1942), a student of Morandini at the State Institute of Art in Udine, after graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, became a teacher at the Cordenons Art Institute in the 1990s. She began a committed artistic research in the 1980s, experimenting with dyeing techniques for batik reserve, which she uses in series of panels with rhythmic graphic figurations of considerable size. A research that continues by bringing back marks and imprints on canvas supports, with games of conceptual sequences developed in shades of white, black and golden yellow. Subsequently, he experiments with loom weaving, creating material works with webbing, string, yarn, gauze and cut fabrics with varied chromatic variations in which, at times, the same support frame becomes part of the work.
Lydia Predominato (Trieste 1938), graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome city where she moved in her early twenties and, in the 1980s, became a lecturer at the San Giacomo School of Ornamental Arts, the Central Institute of Restoration and the Koefia International Academy of High Fashion and Costume. In the 1990s, she is with Morandini the promoter of the Valcellina Prize and joins the Scientific Committee of Le Arti Tessili. An eclectic and avant-garde artist, she shifts her research by making flat works, three-dimensional installations, performances, videos and works of denunciation that lead one to reflect on issues that are always topical.
Says the president of Le Arti Tessili Annamaria Poggioli, who will present the exhibition on the opening day, August 26 at 5:30 p.m. : “This year, despite the fact that our association has not concretely received regional funding to carry on the project of research and dissemination of Gina Morandini’s work and the start of the 12th edition of the Valcellina Prize dedicated to young textile artists from all over the world, we of Le Arti Tessili, firm on our goals, want to guarantee activities for our members and interested parties such as workshop activities at the headquarters and the timely opening of the Gallery of Contemporary Textile Art. With this new exhibition we have the pleasure of introducing the work of three important women in the world of textiles to the wide public. We are confident that we will be able to surprise the people who will visit us, thanks to the breadth of the techniques of expression and the themes addressed by these fantastic artists, among the first in Italy to experiment with passion and commitment Fiber Art through productions always in step with the times and with great intensity“.
The exhibition “The Pioneers of Fiber Art in Friuli Venezia Giulia:Morandini, Onofri, Predominato” is made possible thanks to the support of Banca Credito Cooperativo FVG, Lis Aganis – Ecomuseo delle Dolomiti Friulane APS and the Media Partner Arte Morbida Textile Arts Magazine publisher of Renata Pompas’ publication – “Italian Fiber Art. The Pioneers,” which will be available for purchase at the exhibition.
The exhibition will be open to the public from Sept. 2 to Dec. 16, 2023 every Saturday afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m. A special opening is planned for “Knife in Feast,” the traditional event dedicated to the world of blades, on Sunday, August 27 from 10:00 a.m. to noon and 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. It will be possible to arrange guided tours for small groups by reservation by writing to segreteria@leartitessili.it.
Last but not least, we would like to mention the series of workshops that will enliven the spaces of Le Arti Tessili headquarters on weekends between September and December. A calendar that sees “Basic Felt” conducted by Barbara Girardi, “Basic and Advanced Weaving” curated by Liviana Di Giusto, “Carding and Spinning Wool” with Eleonora De Nardo, “Eco Print” held by Olga Giust. The detailed program can be seen at www.leartitessili.it with link on the home page.