Foreword by Ian Berry, curator.
Ian Berry. Textile Artist. Installation Artist. I even recently added Set Designer to the list and now, Curator. It’s perhaps an over used and abused word but here goes.
I have always struggled to feel at home within any title. Textile Artist, but I don’t stitch, quilt or sew. Collage or mixed media, but it’s just one medium. Denim. And, no, don’t call me a Denim Artist. I’m an Artist. But I have sometimes felt like an island, without a natural home.
However, over the past two decades my work has taken me from this island and around the world. I discovered, often at Art Fairs (and of course thanks now to the internet), that I gravitated towards art that showed a great deal of craftsmanship. And often, art that was made out of unusual items. Artists who had first discovered an untapped material, and then pushed past that to develop it into a technique from which to make amazingly detailed works.
But I wasn’t alone. Most of the artists I’m soon to introduce had got themselves noticed and started to gain success around the world. Often we became staples on ‘This Artist Paints out of XYX’ or ‘can you believe this is made from…’ viral posts as well as countless media. But we are much more than a gimmick. Indeed, this has become quite a significant criteria for involvement.
Then over the years I met these artists, and we became friends. I have known Max Zorn for over a decade with his stunning works created just from layers of packing tape. We’ve often talked about doing a show together as our work has many similarities, the one material, the layering and more often than not, the one colour.
One by one I became friends with some of the others and realised that although we were working independently and often in isolation, we had nonetheless found one another. It’s not for me to call it a movement but we are a collective of artists that are grouping together. We’ve frequently met around the globe and now we’re here displaying our work together. We see this as a first step towards something that will grow and evolve.
Tulle, sneakers, reclaimed car upholstery, paint swatch cards, reclaimed metal, packing tape and more denim with Lill O.Sjöberg who makes TWOOD, wood out of old jeans. This is just the beginning and there are more of us out there. My friend Mark Evans who etches out of leather, Mark Wagner’s incredible images made using just dollar bills, Nick Gentry’s works from discarded technology, and Vic Muniz, who uses numerous materials and who could be said to be the trailblazer.
There’s even talk of us making a manifesto.
We introduce here at the Catto Gallery these first nine, a place I have seen much success with for over a decade. That introduction came from another gallery artist, Colin Fraser, who saw my work in Sweden in 2011 and introduced me to the Directors here. Ever since, I have had a great belief that as artists we should support one another. Anything good in my career has come from an artist’s word. I am happy and honoured to be showing with each and every artist you are about to see in this catalogue, and glad to call them friends. I’d like to thank them all for their commitment and energy towards putting this exhibition together and to the team at the Catto Gallery for believing in this.
Here we introduce, Art Materialism.
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