For immediate release Contact: Kim Harrell 720.203.3575 9 May 2007 The Art of the Domesticated AURORA – Traditional domestic arts include cooking, sewing, embroidery and other household skills. These skills were, at one time, considered to be an essential part of a woman’s repertoire. The essential ingredient in art exhibited in Domesticated: art by women, about women is the work had to explore a personal or public experience of women where an element of the traditional may appear in a non-traditional way. The media represented in the exhibition is as varied at the individuals participating. From artist books by Alicia Bailey which allude to make-up and body image to the collage works of Mary Snyder Behrens working with tissue patterns used in dressmaking as a metaphor for bodily damage done from surgical procedures. Other works include: Vivian Long’s ‘Butterfly Series’ of bright prints and watercolors of the female nude and organic ‘goddess’ jewelry; Canadian Mildred Avendano’s paper wearables and assemblages focus on the sacrifices of women as illustrated in the story of the Asian folktale, The Crane Wife, with specific reference to Filipina caregivers. “I kept discovering artists who expressed various facets of the female experience,” says gallery owner Kim Harrell. “There is this powerful thread of a shared history or ‘herstory’ that I think every woman has faced or will face that is explored in this collection of work.” Body image, how men see women, how women see themselves and how societal expectations pressure women to alter their body – make up on the milder side, foot binding and corsetry on the extreme, are all explored in this innovative and emotive show. “The artists participating have addressed a personal experience or brought difficult issues to light and transformed them into beautiful, sometimes humorous, and considered works of art,” says Harrell. Domesticated: art by women, about women opens Friday, May 18, with a public reception from 5.30 – 8 pm, at East End Applied Arts, 1556 Florence Street, Aurora, 80010. ‘Tea & Talk’ with some of the artists in the exhibition, will be held at the gallery Saturday June 2 from 2-4.30 with the discussion beginning at 3pm (this event is part of the East End Arts District Summer Art Walk, www.auroragov.org/artwalk); a closing ‘Tea & Talk’ reception will also be held June 30, 2 – 4.30, discussion at 3pm. These events are free. Domesticated continues through June 30, 2007 and is open Wednesday, 11am-3 and Thursday through Saturday 11am-5.30 and by appointment. You can reach the gallery at 720.203.3575 and info@eastendarts.com or by visiting the website, www.eastendarts.com for more information.
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