Past Exhibits
ReDress: Upcycled Style by Nancy Judd
January 19 – April 27, 2013
Like it or not, we are a wasteful society. We buy, we consume, we throw things away. Most of our everyday purchases have disposable packaging, our mailboxes are jammed with junk advertising campaigns, our shirt has a rip and we simply buy another. Trash is just a part of our throw-away culture. Artist Nancy Judd thinks there is a better way.
Judd loves the challenge of making garbage into elegant and glamorous garments and inspiring people to look differently at waste. Ms. Judd has been commissioned by major companies such as Target, Coca Cola Company and Delta Air Lines to create not only magnificent works of art, but to also convey the value of consumer consciousness and the future of our planet. Her creations have been exhibited worldwide and have caught the attention of major media including USA Today and CNN. In addition, one of her creations, the Obamanos Coat, constructed from Obama campaign door hangers and fit to the size of our 44th President, has recently been accepted into the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution.
The Ruth Funk Center is pleased to present 18 of Judd’s unique, thought-provoking creations to the greater Central Florida community.
This exhibition has been organized by Nancy Judd, and is circulated through GuestCurator Traveling Exhibition.
Lead Sponsor: 
Battle Worn: Masculine Ideals and Military Identity in Modern Japanese Textiles
September 8 - December 15, 2012
National duty and familial honor played an essential role in shaping the perception of Japanese soldiers in the 19th and early 20thcenturies. During military conflict, loved ones often dedicated unique textiles that accompanied men into battle. These symbolically charged items provided courage and protection as the soldier journeyed to war and often memorialized his triumphant return in victory or death.
Battle Wornwill feature over 50 military textiles, hand-painted on cotton and silk, from the private collection of Dr. and Mrs. Michael Bortner. Objects presented reflect the development of a national military identity rooted in cultural tradition. Highlights include army and navy celebration banners, “good luck” flags,” “one-thousand” stitch belts, uniforms, and children’s toys.
Florida in Fabric: Wish You Were Here!
May 19 – August 18, 2012
FLORIDA IN FABRIC is presented by the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts to promote an appreciation of quilt making as an art form and to provide Florida quilters with an opportunity to display their quilts in the premier textile arts center of the state. Art accepted for this exhibition will exemplify innovation in quilting and surface design techniques as well as excellence in artistic composition and craftsmanship.
Yvonne Porcella: Quilt Selections 1986-2012
Presented in conjunction with Florida in Fabric: Wish You Were Here! Yvonne Porcella: Quilt Selections 1986-2012will feature quilts from the artist’s recent retrospective at the Carnegie Arts Center in Turlock, Calif., as well as contemporary work inspired by the state of Florida. Porcella, founder and past President of the Board of Directors of Studio Art Quilt Associates, has taught and lectured throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and Japan. Her quilts are in the permanent collections of numerous museums, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Arts and Design in New York City and The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
Traditional Textiles of India
January 21 - April 28, 2012
India’s long and varied history has produced a stunning collection of textile traditions. From the domestic to the ceremonial space, these woven materials convey a unique perspective on adornment.
Traditional Textiles of India, co-curated with the Asian Cultural Association, features vibrant textiles from regions across India including Gujarat, Orissa, Punjab, and Rajasthan. Embroidered phulkaris, elegant saris, and block-printed linens illustrate an exceptional tradition of handcrafted skill.
Highlights from the Funk Center’s permanent collection are presented along with objects on loan from private collections.
INTERWOVEN: Contemporary Textile Art by Alejandrina Cué, Andrea Donnelly, and Jennifer Glass
September 10 - December 17, 2011
INTERWOVENfeatures the work of three contemporary artists—Alejandrina Cué, Andrea Donnelly and Jennifer Glass—whose visual imagery exploits the inherent quality of fabric materials to portray both the fragility and depth of the human psyche.
BRITISH BOLTS: ARTISTS' FABRICS OF THE MID-CENTURY
May 21 – August 27, 2011
The textile industry in post-World War II Britain changed dramatically in contrast to the monotony of what the industry had to offer prior to 1951.
Postwar efforts to give Britons a feeling of recovery and progress and the promotion of better-quality “national” design led to the commissioning of artist-designed textiles. As this exhibit demonstrates, the result was an explosion of bold and innovative styles and more painterly textiles that demonstrated the unique potential of screen printing, with its ability to capture the quality of brush-stroked color.
British Bolts, curated from the extensive private collection of H. Kirk Brown III and Jill A Wiltse, examines the variety of aesthetic influences and approaches of men and women designers of the period. Mid-20th-century artists featured in this exhibition include male designers Terence Conran, Marino Marini, Henry Moore, John Piper, and William Scott and women designers like Lucienne Day, Jacqueline Groag and Paule Vézelay.
Curated by Shanna Shelby
LITTLE BLACK DRESS: SELECTIONS FROM THE COSTUME MUSEUM OF CANADA
January 15 – April 23, 2011
Little Black Dress traces the origins of this iconic garment from mourning attire to chic wardrobe essential, with over 45 key historic examples.
Starting with the 1880's, the exhibit will highlight the stylistic changes and popular trends of each decade through the 1990's.
The little black dress is represented as a symbol of the modern era, a potent expression of women’s identity and liberation through changing times.
The majority of dresses will be on loan from the extensive collection of the Costume Museum of Canada in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Once a major hub on the trading routes from Montreal to the West coast, Winnipeg was a garment manufacturing center.
The Canadian pieces will be complemented with examples from the permanent collection of the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts. Dresses on display will include designers such as Chanel, Oscar de la Renta and Arnold Scaasi.
FABRIC OF LIFE: TEXTILES OF LATIN AMERICA
September 11 – December 18, 2010
Dazzling and colorful textiles have constituted important forms of aesthetic and ethnic expression throughout Latin America’s diverse
historic and cultural landscape.
This exhibition illustrates these stunningly complex and colorful textile genres with examples from Mexico to Peru. Hand-painted Amazonian weavings; Panamanian molas; and indigenous costumes from Guatemala and Bolivia illustrate the vibrant traditions that have survived through centuries of modernization.
Highlights from the Funk Center’s permanent collection will be presented along with objects on loan from private collections.
STYLING THE MODERN: FINE ART MEETS FASHION
May 8 - August 21, 2010
This exhibit features modernist scarves produced by the famous Ascher studio in post WWII London and now part of the Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III Collection. Organized and curated by guest curator, Shanna Shelby, the three foot square scarves were printed in limited editions of two to six hundred each; the screens were destroyed after printing.
The scarves are an extraordinary combination of fine art, fashion, and printmaking. The Aschers collaborated with the artists and printers to produce a fascinating yet difficult translation into fabric.
SPEAKING WITH THREAD: THE NARRATIVE OF TEXTILES
January 30 - April 24, 2010
Speaking with Thread: The Narrative of Textiles features selections from the private collections of Jafar Falasiri and William and Norma Canelas Roth, as well as pieces from the museum's permanent collection.
The exhibition features textiles that present stories through their imagery and symbolism.
COAT COUTURE: INSPIRATION TO CREATION
August 29 - December 12, 2009
As its inaugural exhibition, the new Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts will feature wearable art created by our generous benefactor, Ruth E. Funk. Ruth Funk, who began creating her wearable art in the 1980s, uses the coat as her main means of expression. Funk's couture coats highlight the remarkable decorative fabrics created by indigenous peoples from Guatemala to Japan, fabrics that are the inspiration for her designs. Coat Couture positions her wearable art in the context of global textiles. This exhibition aims to present these indigenous textiles as a backdrop to the inspiration so often found in modern art and fashion.
To view more photos from this installation, click here.
|
|
|
|
Vest with shells and raffia by Ruth Funk L2009.1.7 Photo by Dominic Agostini |
Coat Couture Exhibition |
Mud and Kente cloth jacket by Ruth Funk L2009.1.10 Photo by Dominic Agostini |
KIMONO: A TRANSITION TO MODERNITY
February 2 - April 25, 2009
Funk Textile Gallery Crawford Building, Room 405
Featuring a selection of recent gifts from the collection of William and Norma Canelas Roth, Kimono: A Transition to Modernity, exhibits kimono and accessories from pre- and post- WWII. The exhibition highlights the impact of Western influence on traditional Japanese culture through fashion and design.
To see more photos from this installation, click here.
|
|
|
Young woman's formal kimono(furisode), Japan, Taisho Period, 2007.23.11 Photo by Dominic Agostini |
Kimono: Transition to Modernity Exhibition |
PATTERNS OF LIFE: KUBA CLOTH AND DESIGN
August 18 – December 12, 2008
Funk Textiles Gallery Crawford Building, Room 405
|
Details: Kuba Cloth; Woven raffia cloth with reverse appliquéd geometric shapes. From: Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) Size: 12‘ 6“ L. x 28“ W. |
THE ART OF FASHION
February 21 – July 3, 2008
Funk Textiles Gallery Crawford Building, Room 405
Includes whimsical creations inspired by the wearable art movement: jewelry by the Florida Tech gallery's namesake, Ruth Funk and coats by Washington state weaver, Anita Luvera Mayer.
|
|
| The Art of Fashion exhibit |
Silk yarns and dyed-to-match raffia. 25” W x 50” L 1988. Gift of the artist. |
BEADWORK AND FIBER ARTS FROM CAMEROON AND SOUTH AFRICA
August 27, 2007 - January 25, 2008
Funk Textiles Gallery Crawford Building, Room 405
Objects on display include colorful beaded wedding capes, bags, woven skirts, belts and a headdress. Items come from the Ndebele, Thembu and Zulu tribes of South Africa and from Cameroon.
Recent Gifts from William D. and Norma Canelas Roth
|
|
|
Girl’s apron, Ndebele, South Africa, 12 5/8” x 16 1/2”. Canvas, fiber, glass beads, c. 1960. |
Girl's skirt, or apron, from South Africa and the Thembu tribe. Hand-woven cloth, brass rings, glass beads, leather, c. 1930-1940. |