Alison Horvitz “Granddaughter of a Lodz Silk Weaver”

Atlantic Gallery

[Image: Alison Horvitz "Strip of Courage" Acrylic on Board, 18 x 18 in.]

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Atlantic Gallery presents Granddaughter of a Lodz Silk Weaver, paintings mirroring the intersection of form and gesture by Alison Horvitz. Included in this exhibition are Tkacz Paintings, those directly influenced by the silk weavings; Memory Jars, paintings depicting the emotional states of family roots; and La Macina Di Cresi, paintings done while in residency in Italy.

“From the time I was a young child I spent hours in my maternal grandfather’s workshop. I used to watch him as he studied pieces of fabric and made decisions about which fabric he would upholster onto the furniture he had crafted. From him, I learned all about plaids, stripes and repetitive patterns. My other grandfather had been taught to weave in Lodz, Poland when he was six years old. After immigrating to Paterson, NJ, he made his living as a silk weaver. He would bring me pieces of that woven fabric to play with and I would love the feel, texture and possibilities of what could be done with them.”

“My early experiences with these two master craftsmen resonated and informed how I look at materials as well as colors and patterns I use in my work. The inspiration for my paintings originated in the experiences I had watching my grandfathers’ work with thread and fabric, learning to understand pattern, form, texture and color. As an abstract painter, my process relies on a grid-like system of marks, and a well-articulated composition, based on a traditional sense of balance, chiaroscuro and space to organize information. The work begins as a sequence of related and interdependent actions. These are repeated until a resolution is reached. Each painting serves as a guide to this intuitive process.”

Similar to many artists’ beginnings, Alison fell in love with the process of making art when she was about three years old, drawing and painting her way through elementary and high school instead of doing her homework and writing reports. Eventually she finished four years at Boston University, then went on the study painting at RISD and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, MA.

After that she participated in an artist residency at Vermont Studio Center in Johnston, VT, and more recently was part of an artist residency in Italy at La Macina de Cresi. Her paintings have been shown in exhibits across the United States, and have received awards from some of those juried exhibits. She maintains a studio in Boston, MA and New York City. With an artist grant awarded to her by the Fall River Cultural Council, she founded Open Studios in Southeastern Massachusetts and was awarded an artist stipend to produce work for five years.