Adela Akers, Guerneville, CA, fiber art

Her materials are humble (linen, sisal, horsehair and thin strips of metal foil—carefully cut from tops of wine bottles); but Adela Akers' wall-hung forms possess a stately majesty. Early weavings focused on structure, minimized color and were often massive, leading Akers to experiment with sculptural concerns. She explored the movement of line through repeated folds, creating large, rippling, wave-like pieces. She also constructed weavings with accordion pleats to play with "the contrast of light and shadow within the woven wall." Akers has returned to flat hangings, but her emphasis is on creating rich surface detail. Woven strips are stitched together to reveal subtle tonal relationships. Paints and inks may be applied to threads prior to weaving or to the finished cloth. The banding, zigzags, checkerboard patterns and simple geometric shapes draw on African and South American textiles. Escaping wisps of horsehair soften and give texture to the designs, while metallic strips in ordered rows lend a shimmering and luminous quality to the geometric images. Says Akers, "These works reflect my interest in coded messages and record keeping as it pertains to memorials." Born in Spain in 1933 and raised in Cuba, where she trained to be a pharmacist, Akers came to the States at 27 to study art. She is a Professor Emeritus of Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, where she taught from 1972 to 1995.

browngrotta arts, 276 Ridgefield Road, Wilton, CT 06897, 203/834-0623
Snyderman/Works Galleries, 303 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215/238-9576
Thirteen Moons Gallery, 652 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, 505/995-8513
Triangle Gallery, 47 Kearny Street, San Francisco, CA 94108, 415/392-1686

Snyderman/Works Galleries, Philadelphia, PA, March-April 2006
New York SOFA Exhibition, NYC, browngrotta arts, June 2006

>Visual Arts>2005/2006 Recipients>Adela Akers