ALBANY INSTITUTE OF HISTORY & ART TO SHOWCASE WORKS OF

FABRIC ARTIST ESTELLE KESSLER YARINSKY

ALBANY, NY – The Albany Institute of History & Art is pleased to announce the opening of their new fall exhibition, FABRICA: Fiber Constructs by Estelle Kessler Yarinsky, on Saturday, September 15^th.  This exhibition consists of 20 large-scale portraits, made largely of printed and textured fabric, of people who have made a difference in the lives of their communities. FABRICA will be on display until December 30^th, 2007. 

Yarinsky, a resident of the Capital District for more than 40 years, incorporates vintage photographs and prints reproduced on cloth, with relevant embroidered quotations, phrases and biographical notes about the diverse figures she selects for her projects.  Highlights of this exhibition include portraits of Emily Warren Roebling (1843 – 1903) wife of Chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge who oversaw the finishing of the bridge after her husband became ill; Rosalind Franklin (1920 – 1958), a British chemist whose basic research contributed to the discovery of the structure of DNA; and Zora Neale Hurston (1891 – 1960), a prolific writer  with degrees from Howard University, Barnard College (the first African American graduate), and Columbia University,  who studied voodoo practices in Haiti, and researched small-town life in black communities for the Works Progress Administration. 

Yarinsky begins each project by researching the figure and then making preliminary sketches of the work and choosing the color schemes, which she calls fabric “sketches”.  She sorts her large bins of fabric and labels them according to color.  She then selects the patterned fabric, buttons and other materials.  A full-sized drawing is used throughout the construction process from which patterns for the various elements are traced.  The shapes are cut and joined with machine and hand sewing, then tacked to an unbleached muslin base the estimated size of the finished piece.  The components are three-layered: the top multi-colored and stitched design; a layer of fiber batting, and a backing fabric.  A fabric border frames the finished work, signed on the reverse side.

The artist said that she chose this process and these materials because “it is soft and tactile.  It ‘cooperates’ and does not resist me, as clay, paint or printing processes have sometimes done in the past.  Its palette of colors and surface textures is endless (search and you will find it).  It is evocative for people of many cultures, wrapping us at birth, warming, cooling or adorning us in life, covering us when we leave the physical world.” 

Yarinsky uses many art historical sources to help depict the variety of people and cultures in her works.  In “Rosalind,” she used the oval format and flattened plane of George Braque and Pablo Picassos cubist paintings.  Renaissance artist Sanzio Raphael’s figure sketches inspired the postures of “Rachael” and “Dorothy.”

Trained as a commercial textile designer at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Yarinsky also has silk screening and woodblock printmaking skills.  To remain proficient in depicting the figure she continues to attend life-drawing classes.  Her work has been included in over thirty-five exhibitions throughout the Capital District, New York City, Brooklyn, New York, Washington, DC, Columbus, Ohio, Delray Beach, Florida and Odessa Texas, as well as private and public collections, including, the Massry Residence and the Albany Institute of History & Art.

For more information about FABRICA: Fiber Constructs by Estelle Kessler Yarinsky, please call 518.463.4478 or visit www.albanyinstitute.org

IMAGES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Funding for this exhibition has been provided courtesy of Norman and Dorice Brickman, Malka and Eitan Evan, Beatrice and Robert Herman, and William and Stevi Swire

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Founded in 1791, the Albany Institute of History & Art (AIHA) is a 501(c) 3 cultural and educational institution dedicated to public service.  As a museum, its mission is to collect, preserve and interpret the art, history and culture of Albany and the upper Hudson Valley region from the 17th century to the present.  AIHA acquires collections, conducts research, produces publications, and offers a wide range of exhibitions, educational and public programs that appeal to diverse audiences ranging from pre-K to senior citizens.  The museum is open year round, Wednesday-Sunday. Admission is free to members and children under 6, $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students and $4 for children ages 6-12.  The Albany Institute of History & Art is accredited by the American Association of Museums and chartered by the New York State Department of Education.