Fiona Rutherford
Fiona Rutherford uses a historical weaving technique to create tapestries for contemporary interiors. She loves the emotional impact of colour, creating an immediate sense of energy through a vivid but limited palate. She weaves in mainly cotton and linen yarns to create a clean texture.
Japanese textiles have influenced her recent work. This interest has led her to experiment with ways of deconstructing tapestry presentation on and off the wall. Woven strips, based on the obi or kimono sash, have become a vehicle for randomly connecting imagery that suggests the border of a larger unseen design. These strips can be hung vertically or horizontally in different locations to create a completely different visual effect.
The imagery is a careful balance of patterns, symbols and mark making. Faded remnants, selvedges and stitching make reference to the human history held in cloth. An intimacy of weaving and story telling fascinates her, bringing together the past and present to create something new and still unfolding.
Fiona’s work is held in major public collections including Arts Council England, Victoria & Albert Museum, London and Elegan, Kobe in Japan. She has exhibited her work widely in the UK, Europe, Japan and Australia.
Born 1953. Assam India.
Education
1971 - 1974 University of Newcastle upon Tyne B.A. Hons. General Arts
Awards
2008 Arts Council Travel Award
2005 Arts Council Travel Award
2003 Arts Council England solo touring exhibition
2002 Northern Arts Mentoring Scheme
2001 Crafts Council British Crafts in Japan
Exhibitions
2009 10N/10S La Cite du Design. St. Etienne. France.
2008 The Fine Art of Tapestry Weaving. Australia.
Tapestry 08. Bankfield Museum & Dean Clough Gallery. Halifax
2007 COLLECT: International art at the V & A. London. The 62 Group of Textile Artists.
2006 Penelope’s Thread. Contemporary tapestry. London.
Origin. The London Craft Fair. Somerset House. London
Tracing Threads. The 62 Group of Textile Artists. Hove Museum & Art Gallery.
2005 The Red Thread. Solo touring exhibition. Curated by Black Swan Arts.
The Art of Craft.The Medici Gallery. London. Mixed media exhibition.
Meet the British Crafts. OZONE. Living Design Centre. Tokyo.
2004 Trailer Made. Mixed media touring exhibition. Newcastle upon Tyne.
Dialogues.Red Box Gallery. Newcastle upon Tyne. Anglo Japanese joint exhibition.
Textile x Two. Shipley Art Gallery. Gateshead. Joint exhibition.
2003 Disconnected Connections. Art Planning Room Aoyama. Tokyo, Japan. Solo exhibition.
New member focus. Contemporary Applied Arts.
2002 Textiles in Context. The 62 Group of Textile Artists. Victoria & Albert Museum. London.
Anthropomorphic Relationships. Flow Gallery. Notting Hill. London.
2001 Handmade. New York International Gift Fair. Jacob Javits Centre, New York.
2000 Chelsea Craft Fair. Chelsea Town Hall, London.
Out of the Garden. 62 of Textile Artists. Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead.
Summer Open. Beatrice Royal Gallery, Eastleigh, Hampshire.
Commissions
2010 Designs for 60 street banners for Hexham, Northumberland.
2009 West Jesmond Primary School. Newcastle.
2007 Flagg Court Primary Health Care Centre.
2004 Dubmire Primary School. Textile installation for school corridors.
2003 South Shields Museum & Art Gallery. Tapestries for entrance walls.
Bede Metro Station. Nexus designs for exterior vitreous enamel panels.
Publicity
2009 Radio 4. Womans Hour. Knitted Lives
2009 CRAFTS on line. Design Exchange Review
2008 American Tapestry Alliance. Review of Different perspectives
2008 CRAFTS magazine. Collector.
2006 Selvedge magazine. Making the connection.
2005 Embroidery magazine. Colours