Christmas Creep, Josh Faught at Lisa Cooley

Christmas Creep is the third solo exhibition by Josh Faught at Lisa Cooley, New York. The etymological link between textiles and text is explored through

Christmas is creeping upon us. This is the last week you can see the third solo exhibition by the San Francisco based artist, Josh Faught at Lisa Cooley in New York. Titled ‘Christmas Creep’, it runs to 21 December 2014 and uses fabric as a medium to explore the link between weaving and words.

Josh Faught, Greg, 2014, Hand woven and crocheted hemp (hand dyed in colors to match the 2013/2014 color forecast, Indigo, gold spray paint, sequin trim, silk, wool, giant clothes pin, spill (resin) with Cathy mug, chocolate chip cookies (plastic), and tin of butter cookies (plastic and metal) on Cedar support, 76 x 74 x 12 inches, Inv# JF083

Faught’s woven, knitted and crocheted sculptures are a means to express those things that language cannot. Exploring the etymological link between textiles and text and the cultural greeting card clichés that have become our way of communicating deeply authentic emotional impulses. The spreading of Christmas from its midwinter place in time, earlier and earlier into autumn with each passing year is the basis of the name of the show.

Josh Faught, Movies (Craig, Mike, Michael, Paul, Matt, Ben, Andy), 2014, Hand woven gold lame and hemp (hand dyed in fashionable shades of blue-black), sequin letters, laminated personal ads from ‘The Hobby Directory,’ glittered clothespins, Witness (VHS), onion rings (rubber), and Jacquard woven movie calendar from a residential hotel in San Francisco on Cedar support. 73 x 89 x 12 inches, Inv# JF085

In the words of the Lisa Cooley Gallery: “Ideas of history, time and sentiment are woven into the material structure of his textiles, which themselves become the ground for curated collections of objects like novelty buttons, fake food, and greeting cards. Each sculpture in the exhibition is titled after a specific individual or group of individuals, all of whom have been romantically attached to the artist in the past… the works are meant to serve as an abstract conjuring of memory and desire.”

Faught’s textiles are all hand-dyed, and most are stitched or woven by the artist’s own “inexpert hands.” The conspicuous imperfections that result—the broken patterns and jarring fluctuations in hue, the frayed edges and slipshod fringes—are part and parcel to the works’ concept and content.”

Work by Faught is also included in the current US touring exhibition ‘Fiber Sculpture 1960–Present’.

Josh Faught, Christopher, 2014, Hand woven hemp (hand dyed in range of colors from Daffodil to Cardinal Red to match the 2013/2014, fashion forecast), 21 x 4 inches, Inv# JF095

Installation view: Josh Faught, Christmas Creep, 2014

Josh Faught, Max, 2014, Hand woven silver lamé and hemp (hand dyed in colors to match the 2013/2014 fashion forecast), nail polish, sequin trim, coffee spill (resin) with broken Cathy mug, wine spill (resin), giant clothespin, denim, silk, and toilet paper on Cedar support, 68 x 65 x 12 inches, Inv# JF084

Josh Faught, Edward [detail], 2014, Hand woven gold lamé and hemp, hand dyed in shades of Daffodil, Cardinal Red, Raspberry, Indigo, and Tea Leaves to match the color fashion forecast of 2014-2015, silk, bedazzled sea shell ash tray from Palm Springs, spilled mug (resin and clay), and Silkwood (VHS) on Cedar support, 72 x 52 x 12 inches, Inv# JF093