Sheila Hicks.

While I was in Philly teaching a workshop this Saturday, in addition to catching up with a friend who has moved there, I stopped into the Sheila Hicks "retrospective" at the ICA.


I was surprised by how small the exhibit was, it was essentially one large gallery, so I was a little bummed to not have the opportunity to see more of her work together. This was especially disappointing since much of her work is large scale works installed specific to each location.


But the works that where there were a wonderful display of her career. From her earlier works at Yale that obviously reference minimalism and painting more directly.


To her large scale works. Her large scale installation which was actually 2 pieces combined, was by far the highlight of the show and does not even begin to translate in photographs. It was gorgeous and beautiful and thought provoking.


I loved the many, many small scale weavings included in the exhibit as they traced her experimentation's and ways of thinking.


The texture of the work in general was awesome. But conceptually the work fell a little flat for me. I have always only seen one work of hers at a time, as part of group exhibits, so I remained intoxicated by her use of materials and color. But with so many works together I did want to understand her conceptual drive a bit more, her use of piling, etc. Perhaps she is like an academic modern painter interested in color, shape, and art "concepts." But because of her attachment to the materials of thread, yarn, and weaving I feel like there must be something more and want to understand that and feel that.

The exhibit is up for a few more weeks so make sure to stop by if you can it is so worth it and FREE.