February 16, 2011

Japanese artist Reiko Sudo is known as an innovator in the field of textile design. Sudo is the co-founder and head of the Nuno Corporation and an Eminent Professor at Tokyo's Zokei University. Following her recent residency at the College, Sudo's wonderful work is on display at the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery (3215 Market St.) until March 11th. The month long exhibition, entitled Nuno Circle, features textiles that reflect the aesthetic of three-dimensional textile art, a characteristic unique to works by Japanese artists. The exhibition features work designed by Sudo for Nuno Corporation between 1997 and 2007. The textiles utilize unique weaving techniques and are made of a diverse range of materials: silk, feathers, stainless steel, handmade paper, glutinous yam gel, acrylic-silicone resin, rayon, cotton, bamboo and corn fiber. Sustainability is a theme that reoccurs in many of the textiles - this includes both the physical fiber sense and ethical, often ancient craft techniques. Some of Reiko's textiles are pieced together from remnants of other materials and many are made from recycled fiber and post consumer waste including PET bottle fiber.  They are beautiful, functional and environmentally conscious as Reiko's work is more than a visual and tactile experience; it is a melding of innovation and tradition, a link between ancient craft and modern art.