New exhibition at Peel Gallery blurs line between arts and crafts

On Friday evening, Peel Gallery in Carrboro hosted the opening reception for its March exhibition, “Material Connection” as a participating venue of the Carrboro-Chapel Hill 2nd Friday Art Walk.

Peel is a contemporary art gallery and community event space that regularly features local, emerging, mid-career and under-recognized artists through programming and exhibitions. In addition to its regular gift shop and gallery hours, the space often hosts workshops and other programming such as film screenings and concerts. 

The streets surrounding the centrally located gallery bustled with activity on Friday. Underneath the sunset, attendees lingered outside the gallery for live screen printing by Matthew Tauch of the Super G Print Lab, a local printmaking shop. 

The inclusion of screen printing nodded toward the themes of the works displayed in the exhibition. 

“Material Connection” is a group show of works by Erin Ives, Lauren Leone, Tonya Thornton and Allison Tierney that play with different craft materials and explore the lines between “craft” and “art.”

Ives and Thornton are currently based in Raleigh, and Tierney is based in Pittsboro. Leone is based in Somerville, Mass., currently serving as an artist-in-residence with the LEVEL Retreat located in Chapel Hill. 

The four artists were selected for the exhibition by Lindsay Metivier, the owner and director of Peel Gallery.

“She hand-picked us, saw something that was related in our work,” Ives said. 

Ives said that the artists initially met over Zoom to talk about their work and figure out what the connections between them were.

The artists work substantially with textiles and/or craft materials. In their artist bios at the event, they cite the importance of repurposing materials, transforming discarded materials into something new and original, breaking free of societal standards and the embodied practice of creating. 

Ives’ work for the exhibition is called “The Realm of the Unreal,” a series of mixed media collages created using resin that feature women's clothing models floating in liminal space. The works feature bright colors and unique dimensionality. 

In her work, Ives often explores feminist themes. Additionally, she uses found objects and organic materials with an interest in sustainable practices. 

This series of work highlights the unrealistic expectations of femininity that society pushes onto women. 

Another artist in the exhibition that explores community issues through her work is Leone. Her embroidered pieces highlight the lack of clarity often experienced when dealing with a chronic health condition. 

Leone works as an art therapist and counselor, and also facilitates collaborative community-based art projects that use textile practices. She also taught embroidery at the "Loops & Bloops" workshop at Peel on Saturday. 

Tierney’s work prioritizes repurposing discarded materials, which she describes in her artist bio as a response to “social concerns such as waste and environmental issues, consumerism, and mass-production.” 

“It’s really exciting to see [discarded materials] living a new life in a home,” Tierney said. 

Her work for the exhibit features bright colors and various craft techniques to discover personal identity.

“I feel like that is a really big thread for everybody,” Thornton said. “Kind of bringing your life to found objects.” 

Thornton’s work also emphasizes craft materials and techniques. Her work for the show includes colorful collages and abstract sculptures made from found objects which take on unique structures. 

Ives also nodded towards the significance of repurposing throughout all of the artist’s work.

“Constantly looking at things and trying to see it in a new way, and then giving it that second life that they were talking about,” Ives said. “What is it, what could it be, what could it mean, and what can we do with it?”

@dthlifestyle | lifestyle@dailytarheel.com