A Kolman & Reeb Gallery Project Space Exhibition
March 30 – May 11, 2024
Music and Dance Performance: Thursday, May 2, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Artist Talk: Thursday, May 2, 7:15 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
Drawing inspiration from the clarity and intensity of the blue skies and the majesty of vividly colorful sunsets over Minneapolis, textile artist Carolyn Halliday’s Project Space Exhibition, Making Climate Change Visible, points to a time when the presence of climate change was noticeably minimalized.
Taking advantage of the resources provided by a Kolman & Reeb Gallery Project Space Grant has allowed Halliday to experiment at a grand scale. In her site-specific installations, she uses knitted wire to characterize a vibrant sky brought on by the apparent transformation of three important moments in recent history.
Drawn from her experiences during the global pandemic lockdown of COVID-19, Halliday hopes to summon gallery patrons’ awareness of the increased clarity of the sky because of reduced commuter traffic. Something that, sadly, is no longer visible with the return of ordinary commerce. Secondly, Halliday’s work will remind us of the smokey grey horizon we endured during the summer of 2023 caused by rampant forest fires. An annoyance, the smoke was an ever-present reminder of our burdened environment. Finally, Halliday asks us to consider the startling and colorful orange, red, and pink sunsets, made intensely more beautiful by the presence of heavy particulates that cause air pollution.
Carolyn Halliday thinks of herself as a materialist. Driven by process, she uses visually intriguing materials that are malleable enough to knit and then emphasizes the elements with needlework techniques to communicate her artistic concerns.
Halliday hopes viewers respond to the elements of color and the tactile essence of her knit work, reminding them of the reality of the negative impact we all have on our environment, and the positive shifts that are possible based on recent experience.
“I was drawn to Carolyn’s idea of creating awareness around climate change,” says Anita Sue Kolman, Kolman & Reeb Gallery co-founder and co-partner. “What spiked my interest in Carolyn’s Project Space Grant proposal was seeing her work of knitted wire as an interactive installation in the gallery space. I’m eager to see how her work will transform the gallery, especially given the increasingly important discussion around our environment.”
Jodi Reeb, gallery curator and co-partner, comments, “Carolyn’s sculptural needlework turns loosely knitted wire into a platform to talk about her climate and ecological concerns. She makes visible this timely subject of climate change beautiful yet physical and up-close. Viewers will be enveloped with the non-traditional sculptures hanging from the ceiling and walls, reminding us of climatic events that happened just last year.”
Embracing the sometimes denigrated term “fiber artist,” Carolyn Halliday’s art is grounded in the use of textiles. She has been showing her work for over two decades, earning various awards. Recent group shows include exhibits in Madrid, Spain, and New York City. Her work is in the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society (2001, 2006) and the Weisman Art Museum (2016). In the spring of 2014, she was the featured visual artist for an episode of the televised TPT production Minnesota Originals. She was a mentor in the Textile Center Mentor/Protegee program and the WARM Mentor Program, and she also privately mentors artists.