Journal

Textiles by Gloria Pastore

Within the fortifications of Naples, the Castel Sant’Elmo,  there is a modern art gallery - the collection spans from 1910 to the present - mainly gifts and loans, mainly works by Italian artists.

In it I was drawn to this work by the Naples based artist Gloria Pastore (b. 1946).  It is called Memories, Italy and dates from 1982-3.

It is an old piece of silk, woven by the San Leucio Silk factory, and then embellished with all kinds of ephemera 

Letters, postcards, cut out illustrations

These appear to be stuck directly onto the silk

with added prints over the top - there are red washi tape like marks, pieces where it looks as though a print roller has been used.

there is an emphasis on romance, letters, memory.

It made me think of all the pieces of sewing ephemera which we have been discussing in the Stitched course - transfers, button cards along with old photographs and letters.

There are small pieces of maps and rubbings which must have been done from some kind of relief - perhaps a printing plate.

all gently altered and pieced together.

The piece was worked as a loose textile and then mounted, stretched taut, between a backing board and a plexiglass cover.

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