Fibreworks 2012: Liv Pedersen

Liv Pedersen Gertrud and Max, 2012; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

Liv Pedersen is a Danish-born Calgary-based weaver who trained as a painter and social worker before turning to fibre. Max and Gertrude are two separate tapestry weavings that read well paired together. Don't they make a fine couple? They have a fun cartoon quality that I don't expect to see in a tapestry weaving. Gertrud could be Homer Simpson's long lost sister and tough guy Max is telling us to stay away from his sweetheart. Or else!

Liv Pedersen Max, 2012; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

I love that Pedersen shaped the faces free of a background so that they stand alone. Max's fringed beard is another nice detail.

Liv Pedersen Gertrud, 2012; Photo credit: Karen Thiessen, 2012

Gertrud's pillow lips and winsome smile add to her mystique. I wonder what fictitious character was the inspiration behind Gertrud. The more I look at Max and Gertrud, the more I like them. Couldn't you see a graphic novel based on them?

In case you were wondering, Gertrud is 31 X 31 cm and Max is 33 X 23 cm. I was curious to see the hanging devices, but taking an artwork off the wall in the middle of an art opening is usually verboten, so I didn't.

Artist statement: "The primitive Dutch plank loom has for many years been my favorite tool for expressing myself. Lately my small tapestries have been shaped, depicting imaginary faces of freaks and creatures that are more fantasy than portraiture. They are inspired by folk tales and literature. The weaving process takes on a life of its own and often the faces are woven upside down to allow for a more intuitive approach."

* Photographs taken with permission from Mary Misner, Director of Cambridge Galleries