Gallery
-- Sentinel (Mixed Media) --
This collection of works on paper evolved out of the Sewn City collection with which it shares both a similar aesthetic sensibility and range of artistic techniques. Devoid of any buildings the works in this collection focus in on the telephone poles that line city streets, bearing silent witness to the activity passing below them. The poles themselves are rendered in a hyper-realistic style which depicts in exacting detail the subtle variations of color and form that set these seemingly identical objects apart from one another, giving each one its own sort of personality. Sewn lines are used to depict the webs of wires emanating out from each pole, connecting it to a world that exists beyond the edges of the page. Not truly city-scapes in the traditional sense the pieces in this collection are almost more of portrait series for their inanimate subjects.
-- Silk Jacquard Samples --
From the curry-scented depths of India comes this collection of jacquard samples; based on an obsession with repeating pattern and a deep love of weaving, the patterns reflect the artists appreciation of both traditional forms and more modern whimsical imagery.
-- Finished Goods --
Each one of these pillows was created from an original, one of a kind, silk jacquard sample. They are backed in a corresponding colors of 100% silk dupion and outfitted with concealed zippers that allow for easy removal of the cover for dry cleaning. As comfortable to lounge on as they are beautiful to behold! View the selection currently for sale @ My Etsy Shop
-- The Walls Have Eyes (Colored pencil on paper) --
Further examining the shapes and forms found in local architecture this collection of color pencil drawings focuses on the myriad subtle variations found in windows. While the images stand alone as beautifully rendered and technical precise reproductions of actual buildings they also serve as metaphors for the relationship between the internal world and external self. To those inside a window offers a view of the outside world; to those outside it gives a glimpse of the private life going on within.
-- Shadow Forest (Mixed Media) --
The haunting images in this collection focus on the delicate shadows that are cast onto building by nearby trees struck with early morning light. Each piece is created using acrylic paint, graphite and ink which are applied over different paper grounds and then collaged together. The graceful shapes of the tree limbs become stretched and fractured as they spill over the geometric façade’s of the buildings resulting in images that are both familiar and unsettling.
-- Sewn City (current) --
-- Sewn City 2009-2010 --
Inspired by the patterns and shapes created by power lines this collection began as original photographs taken in and around Somerville/Cambridge MA that were then broken down, removing layers of texture and detail, until only a few simple forms remained. A mix of fabric dye and concentrated water colors lends a sense of atmosphere and ghostly color to many of the machine sewn and hand embroidered scenes. The more recent works in this collection utilize colored pencils, chalk and pastels to add color and detail below the lines of stitching.
-- CSArt 50 Pieces --
Community Supported Art
In 2011 the Cambridge Center for Adult Education — in collaboration with the Somerville Arts Council, the Cambridge Arts Council, Cambridge Local First, and Somerville Local First — ran a pilot program called CSArt. CSArt builds on the model of community supported agriculture, getting the work of artists in Somerville and Cambridge into the hands of people who want to buy "local." Rather than vegetables, fish, or dairy products, CSArt shareholders receive original works of art created by nine local artists selected to participate in the program out of a pool of more than 75 applicants.
Drawing inspiration from earlier works created as part of the on-going Sewn City Collection Grace created 50 original pieces for the CSArt, each one depicting a different scene from around Cambridge & Somerville. Each piece was created by first hand dyeing yards of white cotton with a delicate gradation of blues. The dyed fabric was then cut into individual pieces and silk-screened with one of 10 different images of houses drawn from original photographs. A unique pattern of intersecting power lines was machine sewn over each house, the telephone poles were applied using acrylic paint pressed through hand-cut stencils, and the finished work was finally stretched over a wooden frame. The resulting finished pieces were distributed out to 50 lucky CSArt shareholders at a “Harvest Party” held in September.
Collections
Sentinel
Textile Design
The Walls Have Eyes
Shadow Forest
Sewn City
CSArt 50 Pieces
Sentinel
Textile Design
The Walls Have Eyes
Shadow Forest
Sewn City
CSArt 50 Pieces
Events & Shows
- Somerville Open Studios - Artists' Choice Exhibit
- April 20th - May 13th : Opening Reception: 7-9pm, April 20th
@ The Somerville Museum - See the work of many SOS artists in a single location
- SOS Volunteer Show
- April 17th - May 27th - Opening Reception: 6:30 - 8pm, April 25th
@ Block 11 Cafe - Stop by the Volunteer show at Bloc 11 and see an exhibit by the Volunteers that make Somerville Open Studios work
- 50-100-150: a Hot Summer show
- August 7 - September 18th - Opening Reception: 1-3 PM, August 7th
@ The Riverside Gallery (The Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender Street, Cambridge MA) - 50 pieces of work; each $100; buying period is 150 minutes on 5:30-7PM, September 18th
- CSArt Exhibit --WBUR Arts & Culture article--
- July 5 - August 31, 2011 - Opening Reception on July 8th 5-7p.m
@ CCAE, 42 Brattle St, Cambridge, Massachusetts - Works from the 9 artists chosen to participate in the Community Sponsored Art initiative pilot program
- Featured in The Boston Globe article: Art imitates agriculture in CSA System
- May 23rd, 2011
- Artists try farmers’ tactic, selling community shares
- Cambridge Open Studios 2011 (Central Cambridge Map #44)
- May 14th - 15th 2011
@ 1007 Mass Ave, Cambridge MA 02138 - Artists throughout Cambridge open their doors to the public for the third annual city-wide Cambridge Open Studios (COS) during three weekends in May
- Somerville Open Studios Volunteer Show
- March 14th - May 3rd 2011
@ Block 11 Cafe - Showcasing local Somerville artists
- Work on display
- January - March 2011
@ Tony Clamato’s Restaurant Located in Keene, NH - This Place is Just a Bunch of Lines | Grace Durnford + Claudia Sbrissa
- Friday, December 3rd 2010
@ Salon Ciel - 10 West 15 St. Penthouse H, NYC - Two artists commit to paper the beauty created by the every day: telephone lines, bodies, and buildings.
- Somerville Open Studios Weekend
- May 2010 @ Vernon Street Studios
- Somerville Open Studios Artists' Choice Show
- April/May 2010 @ The Somerville Museum
- *Opening reception April 16th, 6-9pm*
- Over and Over
- -The Art of Repetition-
- March 2010 @ 1369(Inman Sq.) through Out of the Blue Art Gallery
- A solo show of mixed media work with a focus on original woven repeats
- Sewn City
- December 2009 @ Brookline Lunch through Out of the Blue Art Gallery
- A solo show of mixed media cityscapes
- Purposefulness Without Purpose
- -Three Approaches to Pop Culture-
- October 4th - 8th 2008 @ Sapphire Lounge Gallery, NYC
- A group show of original textile pieces along with the paintings of Marsha Pugachevsky and mixed media work of Liam O'Brien
Artist Bio
A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Grace's work is inspired by everything from ornate classical textiles to abandoned buildings. A near obsession with repetition, pattern and line forms the backbone of her artistic process and results in a body of work which manages to remain cohesive even as it spans a diverse range of media. Constantly drawn to the beauty of the mundane, overlooked and unexpected; she strives in all her work to create pieces whose clean edged simplicity bellies their complex construction.
Contact
Mailing List: Email me @ grace.durnford@gmail.com with Add to Mailing List as the subject to receive periodic updates on upcoming shows or new collections.