Crystal Gregory

Kentucky 2 Minutes

Crystal​ ​Gregory​ ​is​ ​a​ ​sculptor​ ​whose​ ​work​ ​investigates​ ​textile​ ​structure​ ​through​ ​a​ ​variety​ ​of​ ​materials. Gregory​ ​received​ ​her​ ​BFA​ ​from​ ​the​ ​University​ ​of​ ​Oregon​ ​and​ ​was​ ​granted​ ​a​ ​Full​ ​Merit​ ​Scholarship​ ​to attend​ ​The​ ​School​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Art​ ​Institute​ ​of​ ​Chicago​ ​where​ ​she​ ​received​ ​her​ ​MFA​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Fiber​ ​and​ ​Material Studies​ ​Department.​ ​In​ ​2013​ ​she​ ​was​ ​awarded​ ​highest​ ​honors​ ​with​ ​The​ ​Leonore​ ​Annenberg​ ​Fellowship for​ ​the​ ​Performing​ ​and​ ​Visual​ ​Arts.​ ​With​ ​this​ ​grant​ ​she​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​Amsterdam​ ​NL​ ​where​ ​she​ ​took​ ​a​ ​role​ ​as Artist-In-Residence​ ​at​ ​The​ ​Gerrit​ ​Rietveld​ ​Academie​ ​of​ ​Art.​ ​Her​ ​work​ ​has​ ​been​ ​exhibited​ ​in​ ​museums​ ​and galleries​ ​nationally​ ​including​ Devotion/Destruction: Craft Inheritance​ ​at​ Dorsky​ ​Gallery​ ​Curatorial​ ​Projects, Load Barring: The Art of Construction at​ ​The​ ​Hunterdon​ ​Art​ ​Museum​ ​and​ Crossover at​ ​Black​ ​and​ ​White Project​ ​Space​ ​and​ ​has​ ​been​ ​reviewed​ ​in​ ​publications​ ​such​ ​as​ ​Surface​ ​Design​ ​Journal​ ​and​ ​Art​ ​Critical. Gregory​ ​is​ ​the​ ​Arturo​ ​Alonzo​ ​Sandoval​ ​Endowed​ ​Professor​ ​in​ ​Fiber​ ​within​ ​the​ ​School​ ​of​ ​Arts​ ​and​ ​Visual Studies​ ​at​ ​the​ ​University​ ​of​ ​Kentucky.​ ​Gregory​ ​splits​ ​her​ ​time​ ​between​ ​Lexington,​ ​KY​ ​and​ ​Brooklyn,​ ​NY and​ ​currently​ ​shows​ ​with​ ​Tatyana​ ​Okshteyn​ ​at​ ​Black​ ​&​ ​White​ ​Gallery/Project​ ​Space​ ​in​ ​Brooklyn,​ ​NY.

Fold Enfold 2017
It did not take much moving to come along as fast as we were going 2016
Composition in Lead

Artist Statement

With a background as a weaver I use lace structures as a conceptual foundation for my work. I define lace as a container of negative space and argue that the negative space is more important than the patterns or the thread itself. Lace becomes a barrier that allows for the separation from the other side as well as adds a heightened attention to the things it cages. Lace can be understood as a screen, a filter and as a lens; obstructing and abstracting the view into fractured parts. It creates a cadence between the effort it takes to make clear the image beyond and the awareness of the structure itself.

Through this new definition of lace as a container of absence, I arrive at my study of architectural space and the lines that divides the private from the public. Formally, the work takes shape through a vocabulary of building materials either paired with or mimicking handmade textiles. I find a wonderful tension between the industrial materials of the built landscape such as glass, drywall, metal and concrete and the structural patterns of cloth. By pairing these seemingly opposite worlds together I invert material stereotypes, using the ‘delicate’ material to exhibit strength and support the weight of the concrete or suspend fragile glass geometries. These gestures allow for a reinterpretation of material identities and the viewer is left to confront their understanding of these everyday functional materials.

  • BFA​ ​from​ ​the​ ​University​ ​of​ ​Oregon​
  • MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

https://www.crystalgregory.org

University of Kentucky SAVS Assistant Professor Fiber Arts

crystal.gregory@uky.edu

https://finearts.uky.edu

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