SEASON 5 – 2020
Kirsten Hassenfeld I Long May She Wave, August 1, 2020 – August 31, 2020
For the past several years, Kirsten Hassenfeld have been making mixed-media artworks that feature reclaimed and found textiles, typically in a variety of traditional and contemporary patterns. By combining the everyday imagery and abstract designs from fabrics and trimmings, she reflects on the patchwork of moments both meaningful and mundane that makes up individuals’ lives, and the broader picture of many lives overlapping to form the shifting landscape of American culture.
Long May She Wave borrows vocabulary from familiar fabric motifs: gingham, calico, stripes, dots and stars. The fields of the flag roughly coincide with those of the American flag, and are filled with a personal take on what she believes should be the principles we uphold: stewardship of the natural world, respect and love for all people, and a willingness to learn from history and our collective experiences. As we evolve as a country, Hassenfeld offers a standard to rally around.
Kirsten Hassenfeld moved to New York in 1999 and has been living and working in Brooklyn ever since. Originally a printmaker, her work has shifted from paper sculpture to assemblies of recycled materials and large-scale woven wall works. She received a Saint Gaudens Memorial Fellowship in 2014 and has received grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Her work has been shown at the Brooklyn Museum, the Jewish Museum in New York, and PS1/MoMa. She is looking forward to America’s next chapter.
Image courtesy Kirsten Hassenfeld and Grand Flag, Brooklyn, NY.