Material Gallery is excited to present LFO, an immersive installation featuring Mary Toscano’s intricate handmade quilts and Andrew Rease Shaw’s evocative soundscapes. The installation blends visual and auditory dimensions into a cohesive multisensory experience. LFO will be on view in Salt Lake City from January 25 to March 8, 2025. Please join us on Saturday, January 25, for the opening reception, listening session, and artist talk. Please visit our website for exhibition details.
In the world of music, LFO (low frequency oscillator) refers to a waveform that modulates parameters within a synthesizer, producing effects such as vibrato, tremolo, or other dynamic movements. LFOs typically follow waveforms like sine, square, triangle, and sawtooth waves. These waveforms echo the geometric shapes found in traditional quilt patterns. This parallel between the visual language of quilting and the technical structure of sound synthesis sparked a conversation between Toscano and Shaw, inspiring the creation of the works in LFO.
In addition to the quilt and sound installation, Toscano and Shaw collaborated on a series of eight letterpress prints and two assemblages that reinterpret block patterns found in the quilts, further blurring the lines between textile art and sound design.
Throughout the exhibition, Material Gallery will host a series of Listening Sessions. Visitors can quietly listen to Shaw’s complete musical composition while contemplating the beauty and complexity of Toscano’s quilts. The artists will be present. The Listening sessions are free, and tickets can be reserved at ToscanoShaw.eventbrite.com.
Mary Toscano and Andrew Rease Shaw reside in Salt Lake City and have been companions for 18 years. LFO marks their first collaborative exhibition. Toscano’s diverse art practice spans drawing, printmaking, bookmaking, textiles, and writing, while Shaw is a multi-disciplinary artist working in graphic design, publications, photography, music, sound, and experimental mediums.