TAPESTRY has never gone away, but the new An Lanntair exhibition – Suas leis an Oir-Ghreus! (Long Live Tapestry!) – is still pitched as something of a revival.
And Suas leis an Oir-Ghreus was in fact first shown as 'Vive le Tapisserie!' at the French Institute in Edinburgh last year – proving in its own way that tapestry is something of an international language.
The exhibition comprises of four miniatu
res, each created by 17 of Scotland's leading tapestry artists.
Archie Brenna, Sara Brennan, Amanda Gizzi, Linda Green, Alice Hannigan, Maureen Hodge, Stephen Hunter, Fiona Hutchison, William Jefferies, Ellen Lenvik, Brigitta MacDonald, Jo McDonald, Susan Mowatt, Colin Parker, Paul R Penrice, Anna Ray and Joanne Soroka are all members of the newly formed group STAR (Scottish Tapestry Artists Re-Grouped); and graduates of the tapestry department of Edinburgh College of Art.
Many have been connected with the internationally famous Edinburgh Tapestry Company and among the members, Fiona Hutchison and Canadian Joanne Soroka have both exhibited at An Lanntair in recent years.
One of the first Tapestry Company exhibitions was held in Edinburgh in December 1974, and two years later another show toured Scotland and Norway.
Then, as now, the miniatures on display are all samples, or sketches for far larger pieces, but simultaneously are also individual statements, complete as they are.
Suas leis an Oir-Ghreus! opens in An Lanntair's main gallery on Monday, July 6 and runs until August 16.
