Member News SPG

Berenice Pliskin- at the Westchester Biennial, got a key mention in the Biennial review in the New York Times, Westchester edition on May 7, 2006! Congratulations, Berenice! Her work was reproduced in the paper. Who would be surprised that the reviewer admitted lacking familiarity with dye painting on silk! http://cnr.edu/cg.htm

Christine Sutherland- Tied Together: TEXTILE ART IN THE 21st CENTURY Curated by Rebecca A. T. Stevens, Consultant for Contemporary Textiles at the Textile Musem in Washington, D.C. May 15-July 2 2006, reception May 19 7-9PM Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler Arizona. Admission is free.

Whistler House Museum of Art in Lowell, MA selected "Greed" of German Artist Petra Voegtle for display in their "Art Quilts at the Whistler III" in July/August 2006 This year's "Art Quilts at the Whistler III" in Lowell will host one of the Silk Painted Scrolls of German artist Petra Voegtle (Vyala). Voegtle's award winning work has been displayed at numerous venues in the United States and Europe and incorporates in general not only paintings on silk, but also silk fiber sculptures, drawings on paper/silk scrolls and wood carving. EXHIBITION DATES: Jul 5 - Aug 31, 2005 Opening Reception: Aug 5, 1-3 pm Juror(s): Robyn Daniel, Beverly Fine WHERE: 243 Worthen Street, Lowell, MA For further info and details please contact: Michael H. Lally Tel. 978-452-7641 www.whistlerhouse.org For additional information about the artist and her work please see http://www.vyala-arts.com

Liena Dieck exhibited in The Golden Paintbrush International Silk Painting Competition in Lier, Belgium Dates: April 01 - May 03 2006, held by Habotai, a fine art silk painters group. The exhibition was hugely populated by high ranking embassy officials, Belgium's Secretary of State Mr. Els Van Weert the Speaker at the Opening Ceremony

Vyala - Petra Voegtle is awarded a one woman show as prize from her gallery in Pittsburgh, will be showing also in Pittsburgh concurrently as part of a cultural fair this summer 2006, and is showing summer 2006 in the Whistler in Lowell, Massachusetts. Busy exhibitor! More details to come if she only has time to write!

Here is a nice article on a silk painter from Marin County, CA, Laurel Burch http://www.marinij.com/entertainment/ci_2815157

Jelena Popovic has opened up a new web site, showcasing her beautiful work and expanding into jewelry: http://jelenapopovic.com

Special Congratulations to Jean-Louis Mireault for winning First Trophee in an exhibition of Le Cercle des Artistes Peintres et Sculpteurs du Québec. Jean-Louis was the only silk painter in the competition, it was a great honor to receive the highest award of the show.

German Artist Petra Voegtle (Vyala) exhibits at the BoxHeart Gallery in Pittsburgh in their 6th Annual Art National/International Exhibition, Jan 2007

This year's Annual Art Inter/National, Here and Abroad 2007 of BoxHeart Gallery in Pittsburgh will host again 3 Silk Paintings of German artist Petra Voegtle (Vyala), artist of the year 2007. Voegtle's award winning work has been displayed at numerous venues in the United States and Europe and incorporates not only painting on silk, but also drawing, wood carving and photography .

Pittsburgh, PA (Vyala-Arts) Jan 8, 2006 -- Again three works of German artist Petra Voegtle are to be seen in this year's Annual Art Inter/National, Here and Abroad 2006. The paintings are part of a group exhibition that celebrates artistic expression from all over the world. Nicole Capozzi, owner and director of the gallery, curates this exhibition which is held from Jan 9 to Feb 3, 2007.

Voegtle's work shown at the gallery in January are silk paintings from the series "Magic Landscapes" http://www.angelfire.com/art2/vyala_arts/paintings/dryland.html http://www.angelfire.com/art2/vyala_arts/paintings/underworld.html http://www.angelfire.com/art2/vyala_arts/paintings/frozen.html This series explores the magic of landscapes and special places, the moments of awe, when we see the wonders that are created by nature, the moments of spiritual connection with the past and the future and the moments of transformation through human imagination.

"Dry Land" is a semi-surrealistic landscape that reveals how the human eye is sometimes deceived: in the painting the dune like formations seem to be a solid mass, the surface of the dried river bed appears fragile and delicate. In reality the opposite is often true: dunes are the fragile element and dried river beds turn into a concrete like mass.

"Underworld" is the landscape beneath our feet, hidden from the human eye and can only be accessed when the fear of the dark is conquered.

"Frozen" represents loneliness and the stand-still of all life. But the movement in the sky promises change and the light indicates a tiny spark of hope.

Additionally, the paintings have been machine stitched, a hallmark of Voegtle's work. The stitching adds depth and texture to the painting, creating shades on the silk which appear different depending on the incidence of light.

Voegtle who signs her work with "Vyala" which is an old sanskrit word, feels deeply influenced by Asian cultures due to many travels to southeast Asian countries. A vyala is a mythical catlike animal that can have different faces. Symbolically it represents the struggle of life but it is also seen as a protective motif.

For detailed information on the exhibition and location, please contact Nicole Capozzi, Owner/Director http://www.boxheart.org/ie/info.html

EXHIBITION DATES: Jan 9 - Feb 3, 2007 Reception: Jan 13, 6-9 pm WHERE: BoxHeart Expressions, 4523 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224, Phone- 412 687 8858 F. 412 687 6338

Berenice Pliskin is in the A.I.R. Gallery 7th Biennial, curated by Connie Butler, the Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings, MoMA, is a exhibition of work by over 40 women artists that will be on view from March 6 – March 31, 2007. The opening reception will be held March 8, from 6–8 PM.

The 7th Biennial offers a cross-section of contemporary work in diverse medias. Along with A.I.R. Gallery’s National Artists Program and Fellowship Program, the Biennial exhibition enriches and expands the scope of work shown at A.I.R. The Biennial Series has a strong curatorial history: Charlotta Kotik, Lowery Sims, Elisabeth Sussman, Anne Ellegood, Shamim Momin and Maura Reilly curated the six previous biennials.

The 7th Biennial is part of the TheFeministArtProject, of which A.I.R. Gallery is a Founding Partner. The purpose of the Feminist Art Project is to bring public attention to women artists’ significant impact on contemporary art practice, highlight their international influence, and guarantee their inclusion in the cultural record, past, present, and future. The 7th Biennial’s curator, Connie Butler, is also the curator of another Feminist Art Project exhibition, WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, the first comprehensive, historical exhibition to examine the international foundations and legacy of feminist art. WACK! is currently on view at The Geffen Contemporary at MoCA through July 16, 2007.

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Petra "Vyala" Voegtle has a busy show schedule in the U.S.:

"Fiberplay 2007" in Midland in Michigan, open from 8th of June until August 18, 2007. I have 4 stitched silk scrolls hanging there from the "Ornaments" series which have never been exhibited so far and an abstract one: "Ricefields". See

http://www.creativespiritcenter.org/index.shtml for details. Reception with beverages is June 10th.

I am happy to be at the Whistler again (for the 3rd time now) - "On the Road" at the

Whistler Museum in Lowell, MA from Aug 1 - 31, 2007 in conjunction with the Lowell Quilt Festival (Aug 2-5), my silk carving "Lost Tresures" will be hanging there, one of MY favourites - http://www.angelfire.com/art2/vyala_arts/main/html/lost.html