This particular exhibition entitled Bagatelles @ the Karsh-Masson Gallery in Ottawa, Ontario in August was a highlight to me in 2014. Anna Torma of in Baie Verte, NB is a TEXTILE ARTIST that produces large-scale hand embroidered wall hangings and collages. The scale and intensity of the work itself, of these beautiful multilayered marathons of embroidery really knocked me off my feet. So much so, it was hard to put into words and has taken me a long time to get it here. What I truly enjoyed seeing in this exhibition was that the back of the embroidery, as it was fully displayed, was just as interesting as the front. Moving between the different folds of silk as they hung like massive flags of her children's creative growth depicted in the beasts and monsters fire-breathing and stomping over-top of each other. Many at 210x280cm each, my fingers get cramps just thinking about the all that thread, delicately drawn with needle and thread. I would catch myself tracing the stitches back and forth comparing patterns or just losing myself in the texture and rhythm. I am a sucker for a good monster anyway, but the joy of these works was impossible not to internalize. Walking away from this exhibit I found myself light on my feet and with a silly grin on my face. There are many things referenced in Bagatelles beyond monsters, from Fibonacci to imagined and historical plants, all these images fell into each other with a careless ease. To read more about Anna Torma's work click below and do not miss it if she is showing in your area.
