The Edge of the Woods: Karen Nicol

Rebecca Hossack Gallery is proud to present The Edge of the Woods, a solo exhibition featuring new works by British textile artist Karen Nicol. In her newest series of mixed media creations, Nicol pushes the bounds of her practice through the inclusion of fine jewelry and pearls, collaged photographic negatives, and such unconventional materials as taffeta, chiffon, and leather. The show will commence with an opening reception on October 15 from 6-8PM, and will close on November 9, 2014.

Having started in the fashion world producing specialty embroidery for Matthew Williamson, Givenchy, Vera Wang, and other iconic names in fashion, Karen Nicol has spent most of the last decade channeling her mastery of textile manipulation into fine art. Relying often on unconventional materials, vintage textiles, and found objects as her media, Nicol creates spectacularly embellished characters using an antique Irish sewing machine.

"The Edge of the Woods" brings together familiar characters from Nicol's repertoire - great standing bears and graceful deer reappear and take inventive new shapes - with the unexpected arrival of such figures as a regal silk hair and a "rather wild boar." Each gives the impression of being discovered in the wilderness, or perhaps startled by a woodland wanderer. The exhibition represents a clear divergence from her last solo show, Singerie, for which the artist created a wide range of embroidered monkeys. 

With work in several corporate and public collections including Shell Oil and St. James's Cancer Hospital, Leeds, Nicol has received commissions from clients ranging from the King of Quatar to the Pope. In 2013, three of her works were featured in the Dutch Biennale, MoBa13, and this past summer, a work of Nicol's was exhibited as part of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London. She serves as a visiting professor and fellow at the Royal College of Art.  This will be Karen Nicol's second solo show in New York.