Opening: Weaving in Flux an exhibition by Hilary Lorenz

Weaving in Flux
opens: Friday, August 25, 5-7 pm
on view through September 24, 2023

Lorenz is an internationally-exhibited multi-disciplinary artist specializing in large-scale printed and cut paper installations. She received her MA and MFA from the University of Iowa in Printmaking and Intermedia. Lorenz is a Fulbright Scholar and NEA Mid-Atlantic Fellow; her artwork has been reviewed in NY Times, LA Times, Art in America, and Art on Paper.

Her work in paper, wood, and mixed media revolves around her physical exploration and relationship with the natural world. In her recent work, Lorenz combines her own past and present prints, intaglio, relief, and lithography into paper weavings “to reconcile the experiences and choices that have led me to a critical moment in my life, and reveal a new perspective during a time of tradition,” the artist says. These weavings depict animals, landscapes, and geometries.

In her upcoming show at Hecho a Mano, Lorenz uses her weavings as a tool to reconcile her past and present, and to find a way forward through a time of challenging transitions. “In weaving cut-up slices of older prints into newly made prints, I revisit my past and physically incorporate it into my present, breathing new life into work made long ago,” she says. “This project is about embracing the unknown and, rather than forcing a conclusion, letting the work expose and clarify a new direction. I discover what I should do and where I should go through the process of weaving.”

“My weaving is grounded in processing my history and present through the interplay of prints from my pre-New Mexico life and my current life there. In this artwork, I examine core themes of; Adjusting to a life that has gone from relatively stable to everything being in Flux, Grappling with my own mortality, and questioning how my isolation in a rural environment affects my work. Additionally, I consciously chose to stop consuming materials, mostly paper, and use what is around me, giving new life and purpose to older artworks.”