Developing a broad spectrum of forms from the sparest of materials, late American artist Judith Scott (1943–2005) is best known for her dynamic, strikingly original mixed media works. Enveloping found objects—from wood, jewelry and magazines to bicycle wheels and plastic tubing—in yarn, thread and knotted cloth, Scott's works take shape as dense, often cocoon-like structures notable for their canny approach to colour, texture and form.
Deaf and born with Down syndrome, Scott lived in institutional settings for adults with disabilities much of her adult life. Her introduction to artmaking took place at age 44 through the Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, California, a studio art program founded more than forty years ago to support a community of artists with physical and developmental disabilities. There, Scott was introduced to a fibre art workshop, where she developed her characteristic style of wrapping, weaving and binding.
In the 17 years that would follow until her death, Scott would produce a masterful body of work, consistent in strategy, but diverse in style and form. Surveyed here in Canada for the first time, this exhibition showcases a wide range of Scott's influential output, foregrounding its singular vision, formal innovation and material complexity.
This exhibition is presented in partnership with the 2016 World of Threads Festival.
