City Gallery Exhibit AMICIZIA: THE LONG ARC — 50 Years in the Making

[Jen Payne]

An Exhibition of Fiber Art by Jennifer Davies and Paintings by Liz Hawkes deNiord

 

Amicizia, meaning friendship in Italian, is the perfect word for an exhibit by friends Jennifer Davies and Liz Hawkes deNiord, whose long arc of friendship and art-making has spanned more than 50 years. AMICIZIA: THE LONG ARC, featuring Davies’ fiber art and deNiord’s paintings is their first show together, and will be on view at City Gallery from May 31 - June 30, with an Opening Reception on Sunday, June 2, 1-4 p.m. and an Artists’ Talk on Sunday, June 30, 2-3 p.m.

 

Jennifer Davies will be showing a collection of sewn collages made from handmade paper, as well as lace-like pieces of hand-sewn Kozo fiber. Known for her inquisitive exploration of paper making and its use in fiber art, Davies says that creating with paper is like “dancing with a partner as I follow the lead of the material through a series of steps.” She handmakes her own papers, creating sheets of paper and an intricate lace-like material which she prints and paints to add subtle colors.

 

“Although I would characterize my imagery as abstract, its genesis derives from patterns of nature, overlapping bark, bubbly foam on waves, or tidal lines left on the sand. I use collage and textile techniques, layering, and stitching to build up layers of paper that I have printed or dyed with indigo or kakishibu, both traditional Japanese dyes.”

 

With similar attention to technique, color, and layers, Liz Hawkes deNiord’s distinct ‘excavated’ paintings are heavily textured, thickly layered and scraped with palette knife to reveal dazzling pentimentos infused with saturated, iridescent light. Working mostly on large canvases, the vertical alignment of her colorful abstract paintings resonates as a physical presence. As she explains, “The paintings evolve through layers, through rotation of the canvas, and through a suspended trust in the outcome to 'pay attention' consciously and unconsciously.”

 

deNiord is a painter as well as a ceramicist, and occasionally, a printmaker. Liz and her poet husband Chard deNiord live in the woods of Vermont where she paints and in warm weather also works with clay (treating glazing as three-dimensional painting). She received degrees in art education and art history from Southern Connecticut State College. She has had parallel careers as an artist, producing ceramics, paintings, and prints, along with teaching at public, private, and college levels as a learning specialist for 15 years and an art educator for 23. Liz shows her work regionally and nationally, as well as on occasional book covers.

 

Davies graduated from RISD and the Rome Honors Program. Trained as a painter, she has pivoted to fiber, making paper by hand. Group shows include the Fuller Craft Museum, Flinn Gallery, and Fiberart International. Solo shows were at City Gallery and the Museum of Papermaking. She is a member of North American Hand Papermakers and Surface Design Association. In 2012 she was awarded a Connecticut Artist Fellowship Grant. Her work appears in several Fiber Arts books, such as L’art du fil by Marie Madeleine Masse, and Wall Art, a Schiffer publication. In recent years, she has completed commissions for hotels, cruise ships, and residences.

 

Davis and deNiord have always wanted to exhibit their work together, and are thrilled to present AMICIZIA: THE LONG ARC at City Gallery in June. The exhibit is free and open to the public and runs May 31 - June 30, with an Opening Reception on Sunday, June 2, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. The artists will be in the gallery on Sunday, June 30 for an Artists’ Talk. City Gallery is located at 994 State Street, New Haven, CT 06511. Gallery hours are Friday - Sunday, 12 p.m. - 4 p.m., or by appointment. City Gallery follows New Haven City’s mask mandate policy. For further information please contact City Gallery, [e-mail], www.city-gallery.org.