Earthfold

Jessica Rankin – Cloud from Silt, 2009. Embroidery on organdy, 113 x 184 cm

This spring the works of artist couple Julie Mehretu (°1970) and Jessica Rankin (°1971) were brought together in the exhibition ‘Earthfold’ at the museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in Belgium. They share the same studio space in New York and both use abstraction as artistic language. How fascinating it was to see how their artistic practice is naturally different but at the same time seems to fit so well together and resulted in collaborative works made for this exhibition.

Jessica Rankin – Empty Night, 2009. Embroidery on organdy, 274 x 234 cm

Jessica Rankin – Empty Night, 2009 – Detail

Julie Mehretu is primarily known for her works expressing a metropolitan dynamic. I had admired her work in several exhibitions and museum collections. The work of Jessica Rankin was new to me and such a great discovery. I loved it at first sight. Rankin is born in Australia and she reworks the typical compositions of geographical and astronomical maps in collages, watercolours and embroidered works. As a lover of textile art I fell hard for her embroidery works. She uses organdy as a carrier which gives the work an interesting transparency. The loose threads at the back all add to the composition at the front side. Patterns and meaning stitched together.

Jessica Rankin – Quis Est Iste Qui Venit, 2012. Embroidery on organdy, 213 x 123 cm

Jessica Rankin – Quis Est Iste Qui Venit, 2012 – Detail

Jessica Rankin – Noesis, 2010. Embroidery on organdy, 182 x 182 cm

Jessica Rankin – Untitled I, 2011. Embroidery on organdy, 150 x 150 cm

Jessica Rankin – Passage Dusty (Humming), 2007. Embroidery on organdy, 106 x 152 cm

Jessica Rankin – Termagent (La Fille de Theia), 2014. Embroidery on organdy, 107 x 107 cm

For an artsy web-exhibition of 33 works from Jessica Rankin click here.

All pictures in this post are taken by me in the Earthfold exhibition.