Pattern & Repetition

Pattern and Repetition features works by twenty-six artists employing various materials, including fiber, paper, clay, wood, mixed media, and video, that together quilt a rich picture of the versatility of patterning as an artistic strategy. Although most overtly used in clothing and home decor, patterns are everywhere, even nature. Inhabiting a spectrum, they can be minimal, complex, muted, bold, precise, organic, and range widely in scale. There are many well-known patterns, such as plaid and houndstooth. However, with only a few gestures made in sequence, a new pattern is born, intrinsically intertwining with repetition. It is a decorative technique that allows for maximum impact through a straightforward approach. Many patterns also hold cultural and historical significance worldwide, from Islamic sacred geometry to Scottish kilts and Acoma pottery. Repetition within a pattern establishes a flow that fosters balance and order, yet ironically, it can create a disorienting or maddening chaos if taken a step too far. This exhibition underscores the inherently repetitive nature of artistic labor, from cutting pieces of paper and puzzling them back together to craft a new image to building a structure by coiling clay or methodically applying droplets of glaze. Other examples include painstakingly embroidering a photograph, turning wood on a lathe, weaving a textile, and amassing found objects

Furthermore, Pattern and Repetition highlights the innovative ways the selected artists develop, interpret, amplify, manipulate, and disrupt patterns to discuss a range of topics such as gender, tradition, consumerism, and emotional duality. The grid, a structural framework, is a recurring motif in the exhibition through renderings of checkerboards, lattices, argyle. However, the artists transform squares, diamonds, and lines through sizing, color choices, positioning, and spacing to achieve dynamic abstract and geometric compositions that defy the rigidity of classic patterns. Other pieces make for a psychedelic experience through wavy linework or mirrored organic shapes, while many artists bring patterns to life through three-dimensionality or animation. Pattern and Repetition is a cacophony of familiar symbols and forms that invites reflection on our relationship to patterns and their profound potential for artistic exploration.

—Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy

All following commentaries have been written by Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy

Minah Kim’s audience is an incredible feat. Installing thousands of porcelain beads dyed with cobalt on the floor in the form of a grid, the artist invites the audience, as the title implies, to repeatedly walk over this ceramic sea and listen to the sounds it produces. Microphones and speakers amplify this soundtrack.

Anais Öst’s works are reminiscent of the images found inside a kaleidoscope, injecting her compositions with dynamic psychedelic energy. The mirrored patterns along a vertical axis are strikingly similar to a Rorschach test, which invites interpretation of the abstract forms. 

Matthew Conradt’s collages appear haphazardly cut, but they are precisely puzzled back together to create images that look fragmented, like shattered glass. We get a glimpse of what could be a highly stylized editorial fashion image now refracted. Although mostly abstract, the work has hints of iconic patterns such as stripes, marbling, and luxury brand monograms. 

Patricia Miranda’s Enwrapped in Arms Enfolding: I encapsulates the inherently repetitive nature of labor through an abundant presentation of vintage aprons, napkins, and doilies, items of domestic use, in a cyclical composition. The items feature patterns created of intricate lace, crochet, and embroidery, historically called “women’s work,” which often go unappreciated like domestic work.  - Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy