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Home » MSVU Collection » Gary Markle: Untitled (Proscenium Arch with Ballerinas)
Return to search results Gary Markle: Untitled (Proscenium Arch with Ballerinas)Gary Markle Untitled (Proscenium Arch with Ballerinas) 1994 Shag-Rag Rug was completed as a part of Markle’s MFA thesis work, incorporating synthetic carpet yarn from a defunct Ontario mill and clothing donated by fellow students. To produce the work, he built a loom from salvaged hockey sticks and other discarded materials. In emulation of Navajo weaving, the warp traverses the shorter dimension of the piece. The history of the materials used, including the smells of sometimes unwashed donations, helped to embed Markle’s social connections in the finished piece. The Rug’s tactility is enhanced when it is worn over the shoulders and performed. Conical Fields was partly inspired by the work of Naoko Furue, which Markle included in his Conical Fields’ vibrant colour, repeated cones and irresistible tactility offer an hommage to the 1960s works of Yayoi Kusama, especially her stuffed-penis upholstered furniture. Though more gridded in its placement, the childlike mountain range the cones evoke is similarly humorous and at the same time menacing. Gary Markle holds a BFA in Fashion Design from the Parsons School of Design, New York (1988) and an MFA in Textiles from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1995). In 1996 he worked as Curatorial Assistant at MSVU Art Gallery. He now works as an Assistant Professor in the Textiles/Fashion Department at NSCAD where he has held various teaching contracts since 1997. |