"While at AIR Green I want to spin and weave cloth using wool from the sheep on the farm. The weavings will be used in fabric collages that are made from clothing purchased from used clothing stores. These collages are then cut into, mended, and embroidered. I want to include hand woven and knit cloth into these collages to contrast industrial and hand-woven cloth expanding the texture and sources of these collages."
Artist´s Statement
Textile and skin are intimately connected. While cloth protects skin, either can be cut or torn. Stitches are the means to aid healing. But stitches pierce cloth and skin wounding in an effort to aid healing and minimize scarring. Scars in cloth and skin may reflect the aggression of the initial wound and/or the sensitivity of the person who repaired them.
These works begin when I cut a hole into the cloth. The hole is then filled by weaving with needle and thread. Whether the area of repair is immediately visible or camouflaged, mending these holes leaves a scar that speaks of vulnerability, intimacy, and futility.
Biography
Mark Newport is an artist based in Hamtramck, Michigan whose work explores the intersections of body and gender. The work has its foundation in textiles and has used performance, video, and print. Newport’s work has been exhibited internationally and has been recognized by awards from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the Creative Capital Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation. He has also participated in residencies at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, New York and at Tides Institute and Art Museum in Eastport, Maine. Mark’s work is in the collections of The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Cranbrook Art Museum, The Arizona State University Art Museum, The Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC, and The Detroit Institute of Arts.
The Simone DeSousa Gallery, Detroit and the Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, represent his work.
