The Chesterton Art Center is pleased to present Changes, a solo exhibition of select Journal Series weavings from 2020 by Bryana Bibbs. The exhibition will be on view from January 8 - February 29, 2024. The opening reception will be on Saturday, January 13, from 12 - 2 pm.
Exhibiting 79 weavings from the Series in 2020, the exhibition shows how Bibbs documents her personal experiences using various materials, colors, and textures while using repetitive textile techniques. Working intuitively, Bibbs uses materials such as wool, dried paint, flax, recycled sari silk, and degummed silk cocoons within the journals, and she also creates her yarns using the techniques of hand-carding and hand-spinning.
Statement: When I think of how the Series began in 2020, I think of the word Changes because so much was happening for me at that time from the pandemic, personal issues, figuring out what direction I wanted to go in with my practice since having left my job in 2019 to become a full-time artist. A lot was going on. But when I began my daily practice with the Quarantine Series, the Natural Series, and then went back to my love of journaling, this time in a visual way with the Journal Series was and still is exciting. Because the Series holds much meaning, from joyous to sad to frustrating moments, I can't wait to see how the Series evolves over the next ten years.
Instagram: @bryanabibbs, @thewewereneveraloneproject
Websites: bryanabibbs.com, thewewereneveraloneproject.com
Bio:
Bryana Bibbs is a Chicago-based artist who works at the intersection of textiles, painting, and community-based practices. Bibbs earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Fiber and Material Studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the founder of “The We Were Never Alone Project - A Weaving Workshop for Victims and Survivors of Domestic Violence” and serves on the Surface Design Association’s Education Committee.
Recent exhibitions include Power Trip, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL (2020); Evanston Art Center Faculty Exhibition, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL (2020); Intrinsic Color, The Wayback, Chicago, IL (2021); HATCH: I Sense Something Has Changed, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL (2021); Cotton: Raw Material & Precious Metaphor, Room482, Brooklyn, NY (2021) Fluffy Crimes #6, Fluffy Crimes, Chicago, IL (2022); Black Creativity Exhibition, Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago, IL (2022); Art of Surface, Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art, Grayslake, IL (2022), Embedded, Praxis Fiber Workshop, Cleveland, OH (2022); Layer, Mark, Repeat, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL (2022); (un)disclosed, 1100 Florence, Evanston, IL (2022); Carrying the Thread, The Merchandise Mart - Chicago Textile Week (2022); In the Fray, Bolivar Art Gallery, Lexington, KY (2022); In Good Hands, Purple Window Gallery, Chicago, IL (2022); ANTHEM-X curated by Jared Owens, Malin Gallery, Miami, FL (2022); Numb, Oliva Gallery, Chicago, IL (2023); A More Human Dwelling Place curated by Myron Beasley, George Marshall Store Gallery, York, ME (2023); Sustenance, Portland Public Library, Portland, ME (2023); Places (Edition 1) curated by Debra Kayes, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Chicago, IL (2023).
Recent awards and residencies include the Chicago Artists Coalition HATCH Residency (2021/22); The Lunder Institute for American Art Residential Fellowship, Waterville, ME (2022); Surf Point Foundation Artist Residency, York, ME (2022); Winter Pentaculum at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN (2023). Recent interviews and reviews include Warp & Weft Magazine, The Coastal Post, The Strategist in New York Magazine, TATTER Journal, UPPERCASE Magazine, New Visionary Magazine, New City Magazine, Artdose Magazine, CBS2 Chicago, and Sixty Inches from Center.
Recent commissions include The Art Institute of Chicago and The Design Museum of Chicago. Collections include Delta Airlines, Inc. and various private collections.