From a distance, it looks like a normal painting. Look closer and you may be in for a surprise. Thread!
That’s what makes the latest exhibition, By A Thread, at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) downtown San Jose so intriguing. You can always expect the unexpected at ICA, one of the gems of the growing SoFA arts scene.
“By a Thread is not an exhibition about precise or technically proficient sewing, embroidery or any other form of needlework,” says Cathy Kimball, ICA Executive Director. “Rather, it is an exhibition featuring contemporary art that uses thread as a medium to communicate the ideas, visions, and conceptual explorations of the participating artists.”
Seeing is believing. So we headed to an art walk (held the first Friday of each month) to see what these emerging and mid-career artists could do with thread.
Amazing is one word that comes to mind.
I wish I could be more eloquent. But to see newspapers, photographs, and paintings all created with just thread is quite the sight. And this is from a hockey-playing, beer and wine-swilling guy’s perspective.
But don’t just take my unremarkable words for it. Check out the video below to see first hand another great exhibit by the ICA. It runs through May 15, and you don’t need to wait for a Firday art walk, although, man are those things hopping!