erin endicott: the healing sutras...

to stitch; a thread or line that holds things together
   --the literal translation of the ancient Sanskrit word "sutra".

chelliswilson. is absolutely delighted to present artist Erin Endicott's first exhibition in Maine.

Erin Endicott's Healing Sutras are a form of iconography, borne of a personal examination of the idea of inherited psychological wounds, and how those wounds insinuate themselves into our lives. The idea that the inherited wound---patterns of behavior and reactions---are seeded into our psyche at birth. And that, over time, this "seed" attracts harmful energy (like attracts like) and grows, creating an area of dense negativity and darkness in our physical bodies. For Endicott, the reparative act of "working through" involves making these wounds into visible, visceral objects. Endicott's personal history is incarnate in each of the Healing Sutras----the "canvas" for each piece being vintage fabrics passed down from the women in her family. The initial marks of the "wounds' are created by staining the fabric with walnut ink. This natural dye literally "grows" an organic shape in a distinctive earthy tone when applied to the damp fabric. Endicott sees this first step, with its variations in tone and shape, as creating a map of sorts for each piece. The painstakingly slow process of stitching each sutra has an almost ceremonial quality to it, and becomes a "rite of healing". These marks are copiously symbolic---vein/roots, cellular/seed shapes, the metaphor of the dress as skin---imbuing these beautiful objects with myriad layers of emotional and intellectual meaning.

The Healing Sutras have been exhibited at Anagnorisis Fine Arts in New York and at the Textile Art Center in Brooklyn, among other national and international venues. Healing Sutra #3 won the "Best in Show" award at Fiberart International 2010, a juried exhibition organized by the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh. Endicott is one of four featured artists in the Emerging Artists Showcase in the current (Summer 2011) issue of Fiberarts Magazine. Erin Endicott holds a BFA degree from Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia.

In addition to The Healing Sutras, two series of Endicott's works on paper----The Story Unfolds (graphite and antique paper) and Art of Dressmaking (ink on antique paper) will also be on view.  Please join us for the opening reception during the First Friday Art Walk, August 5th, beginning at 6pm. The evening will also be our re-emergence from our "under construction" mode, giving you opportunity to meet my new partner, designer Georgia Deveres, and to see the changes we've made to the space. I can't think of a better way to spend a summer evening---Prosecco, treats, and the opportunity to be astonished by the truly extraordinary work of a most gifted artist. See you Friday!