Exhibition: Blanket Coverage

Margo Selby exhibiting in Blanket Coverage at Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre.

Celebrating the Heritage and Diversity of Weaving, textile artist/designer Laura Thomas curates a long-awaited exhibition platforming contemporary woven design.

Blanket Coverage opens at Llantarnam Grange Arts Centre, Cwmbran, south Wales, on 28th November 2020, as a much-needed review of contemporary weave.

The exhibition features 12 artist/designers, from the very established to newly emerging. Margo Selby appears alongside Wallace Sewell, Beatrice Larkin and Eleanor Pritchard – all handweavers who work closely with British mills to interpret their hand-rendered designs into production. Other handweavers featured are: Catarina Riccabona; Maria Sigma; Llio James; Sioni Rhys; Meghan Speilman; Angie Parker; and no exhibition dedicated to blankets in Wales would be complete without Melin Tregwynt – this mill has been in the ownership of the Griffiths family for over a hundred years, and under the direction of the current directors, Eifion and Amanda Griffiths the mill has earned a worldwide reputation for its thoroughly modern twist on iconic Welsh double cloth designs.

Margo’s ‘Kozo’ and ‘Sakuru’ blankets, on display in Blanket Coverage, are woven in Scotland in limited runs of 40, in 100% lambswool. The large scale geometric compositions are inspired by Japanese Boro textiles and North American quilts. The designs were developed on the handlooms of Margo’s studio in Whitstable, and are detailed and intricate as well as bold. Margo’s personal ethos of ‘art into industry’ – championing the craft of the handweaver alongside the skill and expertise of industrial mills – are encapsulated in these throws.

Margo Selby Studio supports The Campaign For Wool, championing the wool producers and specialist wool mills who’s quality materials and honed manufacturing skills allow us to create such exceptional products.

Blanket Coverage highlights a diversity of practice, from the handwoven to the mill-woven, from the repeatable to the one-off, all with an impeccable eye for quality and attention to detail.  All the blankets on show demonstrate evocative use of colour, weave structure and yarn choice resulting in thoroughly covetable and highly collectable blankets to comfort and furnish our homes.

Margo Selby: Handwoven scarves created as development pieces for the Kozo and Sakuru throws

“Its such a joy in these uncertain times to have brought this exhibition together. Blankets are perhaps the ultimate textile symbol of care, nurture and protection that we can all relate to. Despite the introduction of the duvet in the 1980s, they’ve never disappeared from our consciousness. Instead, they’ve been elevated to provide eye-catching design interest to a room. The blankets selected for this exhibition are the heirlooms of our future: a collectors dream!”

– Laura Thomas, Exhibition Curator

DETAILS:

Blanket Coverage is open Tuesday – Saturday, 9.30am – 3.30pm from 28th November 2020 – 30th January 2021

Pease note: All times and dates are subject to change while the organisation navigates and implements social distancing safely in the building. Contact Bob Gelsthorpe for up to date information.

Llantarnam Grange Art Centre is an Art Gallery, Education Space, Café and Craft Shop in the heart of Cwmbran, south Wales.

www.lgac.org.uk