The State of Hand Stitch: New Embroidery by Texas Artists

September 18 - December 18,2021

Note: This exhibition opened virtually in 2020, and is now open to the public. https://youtu.be/e3AZ8shtqeA What’s old is new again in this exhibition of works by seven artists dedicated to sharing the power of hand embroidery in contemporary art.  The State of Hand Stitch:  New Embroidery by Texas Artists opens to the public with tentative dates set for mid-May at the Beeville Art Museum.  The museum will host a closing reception, with the artists in attendance, on Saturday, July 11, 2020, from noon-2 p.m.         “The simple act of passing a threaded needle through a piece of cloth is even more relevant in our age of digital technology,” states Kim Paxson one of the artists featured in the show, “Each piece is personal to the creator whether it tells a story, universal or political, or embellishes a surface with exuberant color and texture.”  The seven artists include Paxson, Debbie Armstrong, Beth Cunningham, Janis Hooker, Lucia LaVilla-Havelin, Mary Ruth Smith, and Pamela Studstill.  Their work is included in museum collections, featured in publications, and displayed across the United States and internationally. Many of the participating artists began learning their craft at their mother or grandmother’s knee, and after years of working as fiber artists, are transforming what some call “homespun” art into fine art, with variations in scale, style, and subject matter.  Works in the Beeville exhibition feature a multitude of materials and techniques:  finely-stitched words and phrases on linen; a large-scale piece embellished with embroidered Mexican folk images; single-stitched narrative works on social issues; fresh takes on the traditional embroidery sampler; and the combination of stitch with artist-made wool textiles. The Beeville Art Museum, created and operated by the Joe Barnhart Foundation, is first and foremost a teaching museum, providing cultural and educational opportunities for the citizens of Bee County and surrounding areas.  Cited by Texas Monthly magazine as one of the “great small towns for art,” Beeville, with a population of approximately 13,000, is home to one of the most ambitious art and educational programs in Texas. In addition to exhibiting works by some of Texas’s most renowned artists, as well as selections from private collections and major museums across the state, the Beeville Art Museum provides docent-led tours and art classes for children and adults and workshops for Beeville educators at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.  

Beeville Art Museum 401 East Fannin
Beeville, TX 78104
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