Funk Center’s New Exhibition Looks at Wearable Art

admin September 5, 2014

Show Sept. 13-Dec. 13 Commemorates Center’s 5^th Anniversary

MELBOURNE, FLA. — The Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts will open its new exhibition, Embellished: A Celebration of Wearable Art, Sept. 13 in its galleries on the Florida Institute of Technology campus in Melbourne.

The show, which will be open through Dec. 13, commemorates the center’s fifth anniversary and includes over 40 examples of contemporary, wearable art by Ann Clarke, Marina Dempster, Kerr Grabowski and center namesake and benefactor Ruth Funk.

Works on display will highlight the diversity of the wearable art movement and emphasize the innovation of surface design. The participants showcase a wide range of skill as artists and educators:

Ann Clarke, who also serves as dean of Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, creates one-of-a-kind art to wear, such as coats and hats, as well as wall hangings.
International artist Marina Dempster utilizes pre-Columbian “yarn painting” to transform found objects into unique sculptures.
Kerr Grabowski’s career as an award-winning and published fiber artist has been marked by her constant experimentation with and innovative approaches to dyeing and screening processes.
Inspired by world textiles and ethnic traditions, Ruth Funk is an intuitive designer who forms each of her couture creations by sewing pieces of recycled fabric together with contemporary cloth and found embellishments.

Several programs will be presented in conjunction with the exhibition including a members-only artist conversation with Marina Dempster and public gallery talks with Ann Clarke on Oct. 21 and Kerr Grabowski on Nov. 18. 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 lecture starts at 6 p.m.

The center will also present a children’s wearable art workshop with local artist Rita Bernstein in its mezzanine on Oct. 18. Registration is required.

For detailed information on all of these events and more, visit http://textiles.fit.edu or call (321) 674-8313.

Beginning Sept. 13, regular hours at the Funk Center will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. The center is located on the Florida Tech campus, next to Evans library, at 150 W. University Blvd. in Melbourne.

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