Amanda McCavour: Neon Bloom

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Wednesday, April 8th, 2015
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Using thousands of small modular sculptural elements to create a faux ecosystem, Amanda McCavour shifts the space of the gallery as a means of examining reactive and adaptive strategies. This constructed ecosystem is further shaped by the artist’s imagination of how nutrient cycles, energy flows and topologies might affect these blooming forms.

For this project the artist uses a sewing machine to create three dimensional thread drawings. By sewing into fabric that dissolves in water, she builds up stitched lines on a temporary surface.  The crossing threads create strength so that when the fabric is dissolved the thread drawing can hold together without a base. These flat embroideries are then sculpted with heat creating a three-dimensional form.  Neon Bloom investigates the sculptural potential of this embroidery process and explores the duality of embroidery – its subtle quality versus its accumulative presence and its structural possibilities versus its fragility.  

During the labour intensive week of install leading up to the opening of the show, Neon Bloom takes on a life of its own in the gallery space, hooking into ceilings, spreading across walls, wedging into corners and anchoring along ledges. Once the installation process is complete, thousands of blooms cluster, float and spread through the space, creating an intensely coloured and immersive environment.

Amanda McCavour holds a BFA from York University where she studied drawing and installation. She has recently completed her MFA in Fibers and Material Studies at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, PA. Since 2007, she has participated in national and international exhibitions in the United States, France, Italy and2015 Amanda McCavour_Neon Bloom Studio 2 most recently in the Ukraine. In the past year McCavour has received grants and awards from the Ontario Society of Artists, The Embroiderers Guild of America, The Handweavers and Spinners Guild of America, Craft Ontario, Tyler School of Art and The Surface Design Association. McCavour has completed residencies at Harbourfront Centre’s Textile Studio in Toronto, at Maison des Metiers D’art de Quebec in Quebec City, at the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture in Dawson City, Yukon and at Struts Gallery in Sackville New Brunswick.

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Opening reception Friday, March 13, 7 – 9 pm
Preshow artist talk  Friday, March 13, 6 pm
studio workshop Experimental Layers with Amanda McCavour Saturday, March 14, 11 am – 4 pm