Textiles Today? Three Generations of Artist Weavers

Bringing together the work of eight artists - seven from the UK and one from Japan - the exhibition takes a wide angle view on the world of weave. Exploring the enduring possibilities of weaving and textile practice, it examines the space between art, design and craft, and highlights the work of makers who are continuing to find new possibilities within woven textiles. Alongside contemporary work, examples of historical pieces and archive material spark conversation of past and present, with the exhibition firmly grounded in the present day by the launch of a specially commissioned limited-edition Fen Ditton Blanket.

Exhibiting artists: Jo Barker (b. 1963), Mary Farmer (1940-2021), Amber Fry (b. 2001), Jacob Monk (b. 1993), Eleanor Pritchard (b. 1971), Mary Restieaux (b. 1945), Ann Sutton (b. 1935) and Jun Tomita (b. 1951).

In 1982 the Swiss-born textile designer Marianne Straub (1909-1994) organised an exhibition for Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, called Textiles Today. Just over forty years on, Fen Ditton Gallery responds to that exhibition by bringing together three generations of artist weavers, two of whom, Mary Restieaux and the late Mary Farmer, were also in the original exhibition.

Modern responses to the fine art tradition of high-warp tapestry are shown in the work of Edinburgh-based Jo Barker and in a work from the Estate of Mary Farmer, alongside other experimental, thoughtful, unexpected and striking responses to the world of warp and weft. The show leads out from the career of Ann Sutton, the most senior textile designer in it and recently awarded a medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Worshipful Company of Weavers, who moved between designs for industry and radical art installations. A recent wall piece by Sutton is shown alongside newly archived design samples and early artworks from throughout her career.

The move between the worlds of fine art and design, underpinned by the craft of weave, runs through all the exhibitors. Mary Restieaux has been a leader in the art of ikat for decades, moving it into new territory alongside working as a colour consultant for Paris fashion houses. Emerging artist Jacob Monk is developing the potential of ikat for domestic textiles, and has recently returned from a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust study trip to Japan, where he visited, amongst others, Jun Tomita. Tomita, who specialises in indigo shibori, studied with Mary Farmer at Farnham in the 1980s; his work is lent by the London-based Japanese art specialist Katie Jones. The youngest exhibitor, Amber Fry, is researching new possibilities for plant dyes, growing the plants on her own allotment in Kent as she develops her weaving career, currently as studio assistant to the London textile designer Margo Selby.

The Fen Ditton Blanket, launched with the exhibition, is designed by Eleanor Pritchard and draws on her knowledge of East Anglian and Fen landscapes: a limited edition of 20, woven in collaboration with a British mill, with British wool yarn as part of the mix.

The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of talks and events. Catalogue and purchase enquiries: info@fendittongallery.com.