The work chosen for the Led by Thread exhibit shares several commonalities: a visceral, tactile as well as unconventional use of material, a carefully considered sense of color, a deep involvement in process and the thoughtful use of space (whether within or around the artwork). There was a lot of really beautiful artwork submitted for the show, but these artworks seem to go beyond what was expected of the material itself and transcend their own physicality.

As the premise of the show was Led by Thread, I attempted to find the work that took the material as a starting point and pushed and pulled it in different directions creating unexpected experiences and new ways of seeing the materials. There is wonderful tension and interest created in the work through contrast of material - glass beads and metal, wood and hair, thread and paper, glass and fiber, dye and paper. The works use the materials to address issues of body, landscape, and space as well as more personal ones such as identity, femininity, spirituality, philosophy and ritual. I see references (intentional or not) to Eva Hesse, Robert Smithson, Joseph Beuys, Louise Bourgeois, and Yayoi Kusama among others. The "Led By Thread" artists are creating within the tradition of their antecedents, steering us to a new kind of beauty that transcends the familiar relationship we have with objects and materials, resulting in intimate, multi-sensory experiences with the artworks themselves.