ampersand international arts is thrilled to present Not Bad, a collaborative exhibition by Amy Ahlstrom & Margaret Timbrell. Opening Thursday, October 4th, 2018, Not Bad is inspired by feedback given to each artist and developed using their respective styles of textile manipulation and techniques. Sourcing phrases from rejection and acceptance letters, Ahlstrom & Timbrell each create happy imagery paired with the occasionally brutal feedback. Taking excerpts like “you might consider not applying” or “get off the acid” Ahlstrom’s adaptation of hand cut quilting and Timbrell’s manipulation of needlepoint give new meaning and essence to the criticisms.

 

Timbrell sources partially needlepointed canvases, and stitches in petit point, the feedback she has received about her artwork. This pairing of traditional needlepoint themes, with the sometimes unkind and often unsolicited feedback of her art practice, contrasts traditional pretty and light hearted needlework with the gently negative words.

 

Ahlstrom creates quilts made of silk and cotton stretched over canvas. Utilizing graphic, pop-art simplified imagery in bright colors, Ahlstrom provides a visual counterpoint to the feedback. In addition to these works, Ahlstrom will be presenting new work from an ongoing series featuring double portraits of women. The quilts feature images of strong women alongside their personal words of self worth.

 

Join ampersand international arts October 4th through October 26th, 2018 for the two person, partial collaboration show, Not Bad by Amy Ahlstrom & Margaret Timbrell.

 

 

 

 

 

Amy Ahlstrom is a quilter creating modern pop art. Ahlstrom holds a Master of Fine Arts in Fiber from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Ahlstrom has quilts in the permanent collections of Google, Capital One and the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, and has exhibited at Sylvia White Gallery, Modern Eden, Pro Arts, Root Division and the StARTup Art Fair. Ahlstrom has been nominated for the Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art (SECA) Award from the San Francisco Museum of Contemporary Art and for the Fleishhacker Foundation 2017-2019 Eureka Fellowship. In 2016, she was the inaugural artist for the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles Artist In Residency (AIR) program. Ahlstrom co-chairs the ArtSpan Open Studios Committee Board and is a member of the Exhibitions Committee for the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.

 

Margaret Timbrell is an artist working in multiple media. Timbrell graduated from NYU in 2001. In the Bay Area Timbrell has exhibited at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Jennifer Perlmutter Gallery, SOEX, Pro Arts, Root Division, Incline Gallery. In New York her work has shown at Trestle Gallery, Family Business in Chelsea, Superior Gallery, and Bronfman Center. In Philadelphia, she has shown at Paradigm Gallery. Her work has appeared in the SF Examiner, LA Times, Bust Magazine, Bitch Magazine, Blouin Art Info. In 2012 she was selected as a Heart Artist for SF General’s annual fundraiser. From 2015 to 2017 Timbrell participated in the StARTup Fair. Currently Timbrell is a studio artist and board member at Root Division. She participated in Lenka Clayton’s Artist Residency in Motherhood and is currently the Artist in Residence at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.

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Not Bad

Amy Ahlstrom

&

Margaret Timbrell

 

Closing Reception:

Friday, October 26th

12pm-7pm

 

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Exhibition Dates:

October 4th - 26th, 2018

 

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Gallery Hours:

Thursdays and Fridays

12pm-5pm

or by appointment