Maggie Cardelus

Maggie Cardelús - Meshork

Biografía del Artista:

Maggie Cardelús moved to Paris in 2013 and soon after began collecting cross-stitch canvases, both finished and unfinished, acquiring them at Parisian flea markets and online, beginning a fruitful exploration that lasted several years and resulted in the Meshworks pieces in which she uses mesh and paint. The process is documented, without attempting to be exhaustive, throughout the exhibition and in particular in the Process Wall: years of research and experiments with cross-stitch, dead ends, tempting possibilities, pauses and accelerations, a rethinking of certain artists and writers, and a reinterpretation of her own earlier work. The invention of cross-stitch in the early 19th century systematized and democratized the previously skill-based activity of embroidery, with affordable “kits” of restricted colors and instructions consisting of counting stitches along a pre-squared pattern. These kits later evolved into the popular technique of embroidering printed images directly onto a squared mesh. As in all other forms of industrial production, programming guided the embroiderer’s decisions, removing the need for any significant inventiveness on the part of the manufacturer. This new technique of image production was as innovative and exciting as pixelated digital screens are to contemporary audiences. Although 150 years separate the needle-stitch grid from the digital screen, both exhibit the fundamental cultural techniques of superimposing surfaces at any scale with fixed points and mathematically regular orthogonal lines, assuming that there is an empty space that not only exists, but exists to be filled. The gridded surface, the reticle, is arguably one of the most significant cultural techniques that has ushered in the modern era. In the Meshworks series, Cardelús fuses printmaking techniques with those of painting and cross-stitch to critically engage with the tensions of the grid. Using silkscreen techniques, he relies on the mesh’s membrane-like porosity and structural strength to plan the work. He then pushes paint through the mesh from behind, allowing it to burst forth and reconfigure at will, building three-dimensional geological or biological effects on the other side. The paint and the dynamics of the mesh material yield to viscosity and gravity, while engaging with the printmaking techniques of inversion, stratification and pressure. The artist explains that by working backwards, from the back of the canvas, she is creating a chaotic grid form, conjuring the natural dynamic energies of volcanic eruptions, cloud formation and childbirth. For the Meshworks, which use only the mesh, Cardelús disassembles and reweaves it into shapes that replace the order inherent in the mesh. Maggie Cardelus Maggie Cardelús moved to Paris in 2013 and shortly thereafter began collecting needlepoint canvases, both finished an unfinished, from Parisian flea-markets and online marketplaces, beginning a journey of rich exploration lasting several years that led to the Meshworks pieces using mesh and paint . The process leading to these works is loosely documented throughout the exhibition and particularly on the Process Wall. It involves years of research and experiments involving needlepoint, dead ends, tantalizing possibilities, pauses and accelerations, a rethinking of certain artists and writers, and a reframing of their own, past work. The invention of needlepoint in the early 19th century systematized and democratized the previously more skill-based activity of embroidery with affordable “kits” of restricted colors and instructions which involved counting stitches that followed a gridded drawing. These later evolved into the still-popular technique of needlepointing images printed directly onto gridded mesh. As with all other forms of industrial production, programming guided an embroiderer's decisions, suppressing the need for any significant inventiveness on the part of the maker. This new image-producing technique was as highly innovative and exciting as pixelated, digital screens are for contemporary audiences. Although 150 years separate the needlepoint mesh from the digital screen, they both exhibit the fundamental, cultural techniques of overlaying surfaces at any scale with mathematically regular fixed points and orthogonal lines, assuming there is empty space that not only exists, but exists to be filled. One could say that the gridded surface is one of the most significant cultural techniques that has been ushered in the modern era. For the Meshworks in mesh and paint, Cardelús merges printmaking techniques with those of painting and needlepoint to critically engage with the forces of the grid. Calling upon silkscreen techniques, she relies on the mesh's membrane-like characteristics of porosity and structural strength to determine the work. She then pushes the paint through the mesh from behind, allowing it to erupt through and reconfigure at will, building out like geological or biological processes into three-di¬mensions on the other side. The paint and screen material dynamics yield to viscosity and gravity while they engage with the printmaking techniques of reversal, layering and pressure. Cardelus explains that working in reverse, from behind the screen, she is coaxing cogent form out of the chaotic grid, conjuring the naturally dynamic energies of volcanic eruptions, cloud formation, and childbirth. For the Meshworks in only mesh, Cardelús pulls apart and reweaves the needlepoint/rug mesh into forms that replace ordering principles such as separation and distinction.