Project Room Studio MIRAGE Artwork Development
Artist, Barb Hunt, will be on-site at the gallery for a Project Room Studio to continue development of an ongoing body of work. The gallery is sharing its resources, large working spaces and surfaces, to support the artist in her work.
The artist will extend invitations for the community to visit her during her working sessions.
Contact CVAG for times or visit the CVAG facebook page
My current work is a series of large textile panels that I create by sewing vintage buttons on velvet in abstract shapes based on natural forms. I think of this work as a shimmering mirage of nature – shifting patterns made of button ‘pixels.’ The word ‘button’ has its origins in nature, coming from the word ‘bud.’ I have been collecting buttons since the 1970s and enjoy their humble domestic associations, their incredible variety, and their history. I am particularly inspired by the “Pearlies.” They are groups of working-class families in London, England who sew mother-of-pearl buttons on their clothing and raise money for charity while wearing their pearly “flash.” In my work with buttons, I focus on the natural environment because I am interested in its effects on human health, both physical and psychological. So my use of imagery from nature becomes a metaphor for the inner landscape.
– Barb Hunt
www.barbhunt.com
Barb Hunt is a Canadian artist who received a Diploma in Studio Art at the University of Manitoba and an MFA with a specialization in Fibres from Concordia University, Montreal. Her work has been exhibited across Canada and internationally. As well, she has been awarded Canada Council grants and artist residencies in Canada, Paris and Ireland. She taught visual art at Western University, Queen’s University, and Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she was a recipient of the President’s Award for Outstanding Research. She currently lives on Vancouver Island.