Joyce Ertel Hulbert

Working off a group of historic fishing nets, I became captivated by the shadows they cast in space. Following my in-depth photography of the nets and this phenomenon, I completed two artist residencies at Kala Art Institute to produce files and prints that are the foundation for a body of work that includes drawing, printing, and 3 dimensional compositions. Additional printing for the series was produced at Magnolia Editions.
Titled “Interstitial”, I’ve produced around 15 works in this series to date. New works in the studio continue to build and complicate perceptions of compositional and metaphorical space. Inspiration for the series stems from the history of textile structures as lexicons of culture, and the conceptual frameworks of Zen art and philosophy. Through the interplay of surface light on silk, paper and aluminum, Interstitial evokes a space of contemplation.
I have been engaged in the language and history of textiles as an artist and art conservator for over 40 years. As a material manipulated in space, textiles are essentially sculptural. The building of an artform in textiles engages the maker in the slowing down of time and a hands-on acquiring of mastery through material knowledge gained from handling. The surface, the ply, the color - each element becoming a cohesive whole through the finding out, the making. After acquiring a degree in Textile Technology and Design, I dyed colors and wove art textiles for two studios in New York City before moving to San Francisco in 1985. I first built a body of loom- based works in pictorial tapestry, then moved on to assemblage/collage to include and engage in more visceral and immediate art processes. With the series "Common Wheel" c.2013-2017, art printing became essential for a thematic need for repetition of imagery. Great technological strides in textile printing and the capacity for scale has encouraged me to continue the inclusion of printed textiles in my work. Series “Interstitial” continues to date building a confluence of drawn, made, and printed imagery to probe the attraction and mystery of placing textile in space.
Joyce Ertel Hulbert 510-318-1946 [email protected] www.joyce-ertel-hulbert.com