Heather Baumbach – Frame of Reference

This exhibition round includes works provided by Heather Baumbach which will be on view in the North Floor Gallery from February 12 – April 26, 2025.  Lowe Mill A&E invites patrons and art lovers to join us for Open Studio Night, a building-wide experience when our over 150 studios will be open to the public.  The evening also includes receptions for all seven of our gallery spaces. This series gives the public a chance to meet and interact with visiting artists and discuss their work as it is on display and available for purchase. Come out, enjoy a pleasant evening, and maybe you’ll find that special piece of art that speaks to you!  The Open Studio Night reception is Saturday, April 26 from 5-7 pm.

 

About the exhibit:

Anni Albers wrote in the pliable plane:

“When we move about, we carry with us, above all else, the clothes we wear and these have always been of material, textile in its nature, if not actually a textile. We can recognize in leaves and bark, and especially in hides and furs, prototypes of fabric and it is their use as our secondary skin.”

In Frame of Reference, I extend this idea, imagining not only the body, but the world it inhabits comprised of cellular textile as well. Bones, the architecture of our bodies are simply ossified tissue, muscles are formed of elastic fibers, organs are comprised of connective muscle, nervous and epithelial tissue-in essence- we are cellular textiles existing in a world of textile architecture. I explore this idea through contact with my materials and processes. Each work of textile displayed began with off white or pure white material which was then manipulated by hand dyeing, stitching, wrapping, stuffing, pleating quilting, knotting, and braiding into its final form.

 

About the artist:

Heather’s work is inspired by her relationship with the physical body. She is devoted to working with her hands, creating works notable for their deft finish and tactile nature. Her visual art has been exhibited at MassMOCA, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, ArtFields, The Wiregrass Museum of Art, The Gadsden Museum of Art, The Georgine Clark Alabama Artists Gallery, The Charles W. and Norma C. Carroll Gallery at Marshall University and Revolve Gallery, Asheville, NC. She also holds over 30 years of design and production experience in stage, television, and film, her credits including The Cherry Lane Theatre, The Theater Outlet, The Santa Fe Opera, The Los Angeles Opera, Maine State Music Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Carsey-Warner Productions and Comedy Central. Heather holds a BFA in Costume Design from UNCSA and an MFA in Visual Art from Lesley University, she is currently an Adjunct Instructor at The University of Alabama Huntsville.