HALIFAX – What happens when you take a harder discipline like architecture out of context and cut it up to resemble something more soft, like a quilt? Photographer Diane Laundy‘s new exhibition, fabrications, now on display at ViewPoint Gallery on Barrington Street in Halifax, provides urban art enthusiasts with some pause for thought.
At her opening on Thursday, Laundy discussed the link between quilting and architecture. Although the project stemmed from a natural interest in the geometric form of buildings (expressed here with images the artist took in Edmonton and Toronto), Laundy later discovered that quilters had already articulated the link between textiles and architecture. “I found that many modern quilters use architecture as inspiration and architecture in its basic form – grid like structures, the importance of pattern and texture – has many similarities to the design of quilt tops.”
She describes her inspiration for this show as a fascination with the texture provided by modern architecture when shot up close: “A city’s skyscrapers are an omnipresent part of our urban lives and so rather than dismiss them or ignore them, I try to find the beauty in them.”
To see urban beauty through the eyes of Diane Laundy, you can check out fabrications at ViewPoint Gallery until March 28th. She will also be doing an artist’s talk at the gallery tomorrow, Sunday, March 7th, at 2:00pm.
photos provided by Diane Laundy