Pittsburgh Artists Michelle Browne and Risë Nagin Debut Exhibition at Contemporary Craft

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pittsburgh Artists Michelle Browne and Risë Nagin Debut Exhibition at Contemporary Craft
Exhibition of fiber works reimagines the tangled truths of everyday life

PITTSBURGH, PA – May 18, 2018 – Tangled Truths, an exhibition by Pittsburgh artists Michelle Browne and Risë Nagin, will be on display at Contemporary Craft’s (CC) BNY Mellon Satellite Gallery from May 18 – August 18, 2018. In Tangled Truths, Browne and Nagin explore impermanence, perception, and the truth of everyday life through installations of fiber works.

Inspired by the verdant natural environment, Browne creates black-and-white monotype printed fiber installations that employ expressive mark making and recycled materials. Using an obsessive process of wrapping old quilts and fabric remnants with wire, Browne transforms slack fabric energy into ‘springs’ reminiscent of tangled vines. The tension between curly and vertical shapes in nature is a metaphor for our search for clarity as we navigate the opposing ‘truths’ in our world.

Like Browne, Nagins’s recent work is a response to uncertainty. Historically, language has framed perceptions and, consequently, emotions and behavior. In her work, encrypted passages from major religious canons and contemporary writers are inscribed on newspaper accounting ecological disruptions, political turmoil, and human suffering. It is essential to the artist that neither the press clippings nor the writings on top can be easily deciphered; sharp contrast between black and white echoes the divisions within current discourse and the limits of language. Nagin’s use of ethereal materials is integral to the work; the truths that help navigate the human experience are obscured.

Located in the Lobby of the Steel Plaza T-Station in downtown Pittsburgh, Tangled Truths is free to the public and opens daily through midnight. For more information and high-res photos of the exhibition, please contact Stephanie Sun at ssun@contemporarycraft.org or at 412.261.7003.

ABOUT EXHIBITION ARTISTS

Michelle Browne received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking and Painting from Carnegie Mellon University and has studied alternative methods of lithography, carborundum, and screen-printing on glass with master printers. Browne was a resident artist at the Artist Image Resource and Guanlan Original Printmaking Base in Gualan, China, and has worked with Master Printer Javier Cabrera in Mexico City. She is an active member of the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh.

Risë Nagin’s works have been exhibited internationally and are in the collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Art and Design, the Heinz Endowments, The Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, The Victoria Melbourne Museum in Australia, and in private collections in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

ABOUT CONTEMPORARY CRAFT

Presenting contemporary art in craft materials by regional, national, and international artists since 1971, CC offers cutting edge exhibitions focusing on multicultural diversity and art, as well as a range of studio workshops, community outreach programs, and a retail store. Through its mission of engaging the public in creative experiences through contemporary craft, CC offers meaningful art opportunities for 135,000 people a year through four core values: providing vital support for artists, filling critical gaps in public education; sharing cross cultural perspectives; and using art to build community.

CC is located at 2100 Smallman Street in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, PA. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 AM to 5 PM. Exhibition and informal, hands-on art activities in the Drop-In Studio are always free to the public. Contemporary Craft is committed to making its exhibitions, programs, and services accessible to the public. For questions related to accessible accommodations, please contact us. For more information, visit www.contemporarycraft.org or call 412.261.7003.

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