Feel The Love finds alternative ways of understanding materiality and process in artmaking. Materials are woven together and transformed into art objects which become manifestations of the artist’s relationship to their practice. But can we truly understand artworks and by extension, artmaking just by looking? Through the deconstruction of museum etiquette (Don’t touch the artwork says the security guard) and the fulfillment of different sensory needs, Feel the Love works to bridge the gap between artists and viewers by pushing the experience in the gallery beyond visual observation

While not all media lends itself to touch, two of the artists’ focus on textiles provide artworks that guide the viewer’s hand through the literal threads that hold the artworks together. Inspired by the archival findings during her visit to The Little Loomhouse in Louisville, Kentucky and her desire to reclaim a craft tainted by colonial powers, Campa’s mathematical calculations produce woven patterns full of bumps and crooked lines. Hamlin-Navias’ book binds pages of chemical and material experiments while their collection of blues is covered in visible stitches, the artist’s meticulous labor laid out in the open to be felt. Jiang, on the other hand, centers touch through dematerialization by using video to project her labor. The gentle task of washing the gelatin and the sounds of running water work to convince us we are holding the object, partaking in the artist’s process as well. This concept is then fulfilled in Jiang’s performance, of the same name, Tenderness, where the artist and participants must melt the frozen gelatin with their continuous touches. The artists in Feel The Love invite you to participate in tactile explorations of their practice so PLEASE TOUCH THE ART!

Participating Artists:

Linye Jiang

Naomi Hamlin-Navias

Arnie Campa