Dorothy Caldwell Silent Ice/Deep Patience @ AGP 8

Dorothy Caldwell A Red Hill/A Green Hill, 2012; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

The Silent Ice/Deep Patience exhibition was a mix of Dorothy's signature wax and silkscreen resist textiles and some very new work influenced by her time in Australia with India Flint. A Red Hill/A Green Hill is the largest (9'4" X 9'8") of her new work and aesthetically is a significant departure from the work for which she is best known. This textile is paler, muted, is coloured with ink wash and incorporates earth ochre like the "five sisters textiles" that I wrote about in my first posts about this exhibition. Naturally, I'd like to know what kind of ink Dorothy used.

Dorothy Caldwell A Red Hill/A Green Hill, 2012; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

The above appliqué is one half of a monogrammed woman's handkerchief edged with Italian hemstitch that Dorothy stitched and coloured with earth ochre and ink.

Dorothy Caldwell A Red Hill/A Green Hill, 2012; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

A detail of Dorothy's earth ochre encrusted stitching.

Dorothy Caldwell A Red Hill/A Green Hill, 2012; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Here's the other half of the handkerchief with a closer peek at rust-coloured earth ochre.

Dorothy Caldwell A Red Hill/A Green Hill, 2012; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

The subtlety of the new work is evident in the above and next details. In contrast, Dorothy's signature textiles are densely patterned with screen printed and stitched marks, often dramatic, with notes of bright appliquéd fabric. A Red Hill/A Green Hill is fluid, painterly, and ethereal. I'd like to spend more time with it, perhaps when it travels to Cambridge Galleries early next year.

Dorothy Caldwell A Red Hill/A Green Hill, 2012; Photo © Karen Thiessen, 2014

Only in the hands of a master does subtlety register as powerful.

All photos were taken with permission from Dorothy Caldwell and the fine staff of the Art Gallery of Peterborough.