VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) presents Arline Fisch: Creatures from the Deep on view  June 4 – July 30, 2011 (in the Small Gallery).  Friday, June 10, 5:30 – 8:00 PM Opening Reception for Crafting Live(s): 10 Years of Artists-in-Residence and Arline Fisch: Creatures from the Deep. Featuring open studios by the current artists-in-residence.

This summer, visitors are invited to explore a beautiful world of shimmering wire jellyfish in Arline Fisch: Creatures from the Deep. In 2008, the Racine Art Museum (RAM) commissioned internationally acclaimed jewelry artist Arline Fisch to create this special installation for its Windows on Fifth Gallery. Bringing her work to a grand scale, Creatures from the Deep showcases Fisch’s use of knitting and crocheting techniques to create larger-than-life sea creatures made of wire. HCCC is pleased to host the touring version of this exhibition, which will transform the small gallery into a tranquil underwater world, with floating jellyfish of different colors and shapes.

Arline Fisch has been one of the most visible and influential forces in an international art jewelry movement that began in the 1940s. Artists and jewelers changed the definition of jewelry by questioning the importance of precious materials and traditional jewelry techniques. Fisch pioneered the application of textile techniques to sculptural work in metal that pushed the boundaries between jewelry and dress. Her integration of weaving, knitting, crocheting and braiding of metal into the creation of jewelry was a groundbreaking technique that has become standard among her contemporaries.

Also on view at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft Crafting Live(s): 10 Years of Artists-in-Residence and Joan Son - Part Geometry, Part Zen: A Personal Exploration through Paper.

Above image: Arline Fisch, Black Sea Nettle, 2008. Coated copper wire. 84 x 108 x 16 inches. Collection of the Artist. Photo by William Gullette. (detail above, full image below)