New York Gallery | October 2023 – May 2024
As elements clash, surfaces crack, and organic forms emerge, the exhibition reflects upon the subtle and grand gestures nature creates.
By Sylvie Johnson
As elements clash, surfaces crack, and organic forms emerge, Merida reflects upon the subtle and grand gestures nature creates.
With Sylvie Johnson’s artistic vision, Merida layers plied, natural fibers that protrude and recede from the textural ground. These works explore the history where art and the land meet, and examine the marks left by primordial forces.
Connecting nature, artist, and material, Merida seeks to bridge the worlds outside and within.
All of the colors are connected because no element can be without the other... That was the genesis of this collection. Focusing on the interconnectedness of all the elements, and of life itself.
Sylvie Johnson, Artist in Residence
Duo
Without the energy of lava, there is no earth; starting from one point—the core—it creates everything. People think that lava destroys everything… but lava is at the beginning, isn’t it?
Sylvie Johnson
With the tighter weave in between the flowing motifs, the negative spaces recede into the ground, lifting the motifs up as if they were water rushing up over a stone. The dimension gained from the tighter weave made the textile come alive.
Sylvie Johnson
In this series, I wanted to push the boundaries with the dobby-woven rugs, so we experimented with a splicing technique to combine multiple textiles into one rug using leather piping—something that had not been done before. With this technique, we were able to break the mold of dobby-woven textiles and create organic motifs while using traditional looms.
Sylvie Johnson
In harmony with the way, the sky is clear and spacious, the earth is solid and full, all creatures flourish together, content with the way they are, endlessly repeating themselves, endlessly renewed.
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
As you enter the gallery, you are greeted by the brilliance of Reef, oozing out in a puddle of bright red-orange at your feet. Drawn in by its radiant color and mesmerizing movement, you traverse the gallery floor, passing through earth-toned textiles and misty grey pieces before reaching Tephra at the end—a beacon of life at the end of the corridor.
In between [Reef and Tephra] are all the elements that help to create the green of Fern, the life of flora. This green is the end. Throughout the whole gallery, you have the sun, the wind, the water, the soil… all of the energy that goes into green, all of the energy that is gathered, shared, and passed on along the way.
Sylvie Johnson
Tephra
