Let it shine

Opening Mar. 27 at the Textile Museum of Canada  in Toronto, the “Shine” exhibit integrates more than 50 exquisite garments and accessories from the museum’s permanent collections – with the work of contemporary artists from Canada and the U.S., including Carmelo Arnoldin (Toronto), Rhonda Weppler and Trevor Mahovsky (San Francisco and Toronto), and Ghost of a Dream (Brooklyn, N.Y.).

For centuries, the light and lustre of materials have captivated cultures, artisans and artists, attributing to even simple objects an allure of beauty, power and opulence. In “Shine,”  200 years of extraordinary human ingenuity culminate in a global collection of handmade objects that are celebratory and commonplace, excessive and unassuming. The exhibition offers a dazzling array of astounding material transformation from Indian silks embellished with found metals and mirrors, Chinese robes woven from silver- and gold-wrapped thread, and a tablecloth embellished with insect wings, to a chandelier made of used lottery tickets, a tapestry made of thousands of woven recycled drink cans, and a 30-foot-long continuous chain made of one single length of aluminum foil.

Seamlessly integrated with one another, contemporary sculpture and traditional artiacts give expression to reflective materials that are skillfully transformed to create some of the most mystifying and coveted cultural and personal expressions. Shine is presented in conjunction with the Toronto International Jewellery Festival and the 2013 Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) Conference with the generous support of Carole Tanenbaum.

An opening reception will be held at the Textile Museum of Canada (55 Centre Ave.) on Wed., Mar. 27, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Artists will be in attendance.

For more information, visit textilemuseum.ca