Wednesday 28 May 2014

Crochet in Manchester





Mike and I were invited to the wedding of a dear friend's son in The Monastery, Manchester last weekend. The former Franciscan monastery was designed by Pugin and built between 1863-1872.  This architectural masterpiece is a Grade 2* listed building but had fallen into a state of severe disrepair. It was saved by the Monastery of St Francis and Gorton Trust who organised a campaign and raised £6.5 million for the restoration of the deconsecrated building. It is now used for weddings, spiritual events and conferences. If you have the time please click on the link to discover some of the buildings history. A stunning wedding venue for Phil and Sarah.

We decided to visit the Manchester Art Gallery on a rainy Sunday morning. By chance they were holding an exhibition, Time Machine,  by the Portugese artist, Joana Vasconselos. This stunning exhibition juxtaposes very large crochet art works against paintings and sculptures from the gallery to provoke "thoughtful comment". I suggest you click through to read her biography to fully explore her ideas. I have a very sketchy background as far as 'Art' is concerned but I loved the way she plays with texture, form and colour.

The following photos are taken on my iPhone so I apologise for the quality but they give a good idea of the scope and scale of the exhibition.

Bestie 2014 (faience covered in Azores crocheted lace)



Dropping (a bathroom washbasin displayed near the seascapes)

Cottonopolis 2014. Textile tubes and shapes surround the 'masculine' William de Morgan and Pilkington tiles



True Faith 2014 - a crochet painting
Big Booby #2 2011
I would have loved to spend more time in the gallery and will visit again. The exhibition runs until June 1st 2014.


I'm linking up to Wool on Sundays. Perhaps by next week I'll have some of my own stuff to show!



3 comments:

  1. Amazing crochet artworks I will read her biography lovely monastery.

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  2. Oh how wonderful. This is my favourite gallery in Manchester and I'll be home there at the beginning of July too late, unfortunately, to see this fab exhibition. Thanks for sharing Catherine :D

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  3. What a wonderful weekend! The monastery looks amazing and the crochet is extraordinary. I wish I could see it in real life. hank you for linking up with wool on Sundays :)

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