New Exhibition at Ruth Funk Center Features Miami-based Contemporary Artists

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Reimagined: Innovations in Fiber by Alex Trimino and Carrie Sieh, will open Saturday, Jan. 23, at Florida Institute of Technology’s Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts.

The exhibition will remain on view through May 7.

Reimagined will present the work of two Miami-based contemporary artists whose manipulation of fiber is characterized by the use of experimental materials. Selections challenge traditionally conceived “craft” materials by redefining their function and context. Sourced items showcase the featured artists’ experimentation with integrative installations, while reemphasizing the role of textiles as a visually communicative and diverse art form.

Alex Trimino creates illuminated fiber-based sculpture and installations. Her work re-contextualizes the traditional use of colloquial crafts (crochet, knittings and weavings) and explores social views on civilization, technology and gender. In her pieces, old things, old ways and new technologies commingle, exploring how we connect to reality today.

Trimino graduated with an MFA from Florida International University. She has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including from The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, The Elliot Museum, Cambridge Art Association and Joan Mitchell Foundation. Her work has been displayed in solo and group shows internationally. Trimino is represented by Diana Lowenstein Gallery, Miami.

Carrie Sieh is an interdisciplinary artist whose work is rooted in textiles, technology and history. She received a bachelor’s degree in art, with a double focus on painting and photography, from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Her Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from San José State University provided the structure for the extensive research underpinning each project and helps inform the technological themes often present in her work.

Sieh’s work has been displayed at Miami International Airport, Bienes Museum of the Modern Book, Coral Gables Museum, MDC Museum of Art & Design, the Charles Deering Estate and elsewhere. Collections include Bernice Steinbaum, Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz, the James Hotel and United Way Miami-Dade, all in Florida, and Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody in New York City, the Leland Tea Company in San Francisco and private collections in the United States and Uruguay.

Several programs will be presented in conjunction with the exhibition, including public gallery talks with Alex Trimino on March 29 and Carrie Sieh on April 12. Admission is $10 for each public lecture, which will be held in the Funk Center’s galleries and begin with a reception at 5:15 p.m. The lectures starts at 6 p.m.

Regular hours for the center are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. The center is located next to Evans Library on the Florida Tech campus, 150 W. University Blvd. in Melbourne. For more information, visit http://textiles.fit.edu/ or call 321-674-8313.

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