dark night.

I have featured Brooklyn based artist Todd Knopke before but a friend of mine sent his website my way recently and reminded me of his AMAZING work. I especially love his images that are in night settings, through his composition and use of varied fabrics he infuses them with light in such a surprising and powerful way.
I feel as if his newest work has a little bit of a darker edge then the work I reviewed last time and I am intrigued.

He has no statement on his website and though in some ways his work is self explanatory I also think there is a depth to it that I would like to know more about. I cannot believe I missed his show here last year but the interview with the show is great.


Unlike a lot of contemporary artists using "quilting" techniques Todd's work has a refreshing freedom and wildness to it. He tends to read more like a crazy quilt. Todd say's this about the fabrics he uses:

Right now I’m most interested in my friends’ and family’s used clothes, sheets, and towels. Cutting into a pair of cords my brother wore at age 10 that still has a note in the pocket, or my sister’s 11th-grade prom dress that literally smells of 1988, folds time and enriches the work. One of the many beauties of fabric is that it’s everywhere and worn everyday. I’ve taken a shirt off my back because it was the right green to make a grassy patch.

I would have LOVED to see this fantastical installation. See much more of his work and detail shots here.

astounding.

I am nothing short of awed by the work of Todd Knopke. He makes insanely beautiful, textural, narrative, gigantic quilts. Seriously I am just dumbstruck by the work he balances craft and beauty with a touch of messy and imperfection to make incredible pieces.

mimic.

The details in each and every quilt are astounding and add so much to the overall quality of the story.

Lifted.

And to make him even more enviable he is crazy prolific. He makes around 10-20 of these large hand worked and sewn pieces a year. And they are each just as good as the other.

model.

As a result his website is huge and I have not had the time to look at each and every piece but I will. I want to see everything his hands have touched.

ghost.

I am so inspired how he breaks the 2dimensional field and works his quilts out into the 3 dimension. But just a touch, just enough to make them even more perfect. And his titles are pretty awesome and heavy.

I have actually been feeling in a total creative rut and his work spurs me to wake up and get moving in a way I have really needed. See more here.