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I still consider myself a painter and find it difficult not to refer to these embroidered portraits as “paintings”. Although the medium employed is crewel embroidery wool, the technique borrows more from the worlds of drawing and painting.
Initially, working with an established range of wool colors proved frustrating. Unlike painting, I was unable to mix the colors by hand. Progressively, I created a system of sewing the threads in a sequence that would ultimately give the allusion of a certain color or tone. The direction in which the threads were sewn had to mimic the way lines are layered in a drawing to give the allusion of depth, volume, and form. Over time the stitches have become tighter and more complex but ultimately more evocative of flesh, hair, and cloth.
My work unabashedly nods its head to the tradition of tapestry and my own love of craft. Using wool instead of oils has allowed me to broaden the dialogue between portrait and process as well as propose a new definition for the word “painting”.
BIRTHDATE
1971 Valparaiso, IN
EDUCATION
1998 MFA, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO
1994 BA, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL
EXHIBITIONS
2011 "Multiple Stitches", Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
"Here and Now", Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
"Story Lines - Contemporary Embroidery", Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO
2010 “Cutting Edge”, Textile Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY
2009 PULSE Miami, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
“Painting with Wool: New Embroidered Portraits”, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
“Giving Face”, Nicholas Robinson Gallery, New York, NY
PULSE New York, Lyons Wier Ortt Gallery, New York, NY
"Narrative Thread", Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
2008 “As Others See Us: The Contemporary Portrait”, Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, Brattleboro, VT
PULSE New York, Lyons Wier Ortt Gallery, New York, NY
2007 “Material Attitudes”, Regional Arts Commission, Saint Louis, MO
2005 “About Faces: Portraits Past and Present”, Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, Staten Island, NY
“Portrait”, Space B Gallery, New York, NY
2004 “Women Only”, Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, Saint Louis, MO
PUBLICATIONS
New American Paintings: Volume 89
New American Paintings: Volume 53
Saint Louis Post-Dispatch, 05/09/04
COLLECTIONS
West Collection, Oaks, PA
Schoeni Gallery, Hong Kong
Email: caycez@sbcglobal.net
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An insightful look into the process and work of Cayce Zavaglia is featured in the May 2012 issue of Elle Decor magazine.
Lyons Wier Gallery will be presenting a solo showing of Zavaglia’s newest embroidered portraits during Art Week Miami in December.
