Approved: 23.09.2012

Sally Hewett

Artist, Maker

Approved: 23.09.2012

I am interested in the social and political history of stitching and embroidery. My practice centres around ideas of beauty and ugliness and the conventions which determine our definitions of each. Notions of beauty from Aristotle onwards have emphasised symmetry, proportion, and harmony but I am interested in picking apart and holding up these arbitrary and inherited definitions of perfection

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Artist Statement

I am interested in the social and political history of stitching and embroidery. My practice centres around ideas of beauty and ugliness and the conventions which determine our definitions of each. Notions of beauty from Aristotle onwards have emphasised symmetry, proportion, and harmony but I am interested in picking apart and holding up these arbitrary and inherited definitions of perfection to scrutiny. Are some characteristics of bodies inherently beautiful or ugly or do fashion and convention prevent us from seeing them objectively? I am interested in how we see things and how we interpret what we see: does my particular way of representing bodies, using fabrics and stitching, affect how the content of the work is seen? For some of my recent work I have been researching medical conditions and surgical procedures.

CV & Education

Art Education

BA (Hons) Fine Art, Kent Institute of Art and Design (University of the Creative Arts), 2003 Dissertation: Hair and Body Detritus in Art

Exhibitions

2016

Skin Deep, Stone Space, Leytonstone

 2015           
Invited to exhibit at Feminist Fiber Art, Boston, Massachusetts
Selected for open submission exhibition, FAB Open, Bath Fringe Festival
Selected for open submission exhibition, Y Not, curated by Sweet’Art at the Espacio Gallery, Bethnal Green, London
Invited to exhibit at Stitch Fetish 3, Hive Gallery, Los Angeles
Selected for open submission exhibition, Lacemakers, Stables Gallery, Orleans House

2014            
Selected for open submission exhibition, Silvery Threads, Costume and Textile Association, Norfolk Museums
Invited to exhibit at EroticaMENTE, Milan Art & Events Centre, Italy
The Festival of Quilts, NEC, Birmingham
Selected for open submission exhibition, The New Georgians, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham
Selected for open submission exhibition, Art/Science, Courtyard Arts Gallery, Hertford
Selected for open submission exhibition, Drawn to Abstraction, Stables Gallery, Orleans House, Twickenham
Invited to exhibit at International Women’s Day exhibition, Georges House Gallery, Folkestone

2013           
Selected for open submission exhibition, Pinpoint, One Church Street Gallery, Great Missenden.
Knitting and Stitching Show, Alexandra Palace
A4 group exhibition, Fishslab Gallery Whitstable
Pre-selected for Threadneedle Prize exhibition           
Edinburgh Festival of Erotica

2012           
Fishslab Gallery, Whitstable, solo exhibition
Thread'Bare, solo exhibition, The Stone Space, 6 Church Lane Leytonstone, London, E11 1HG
Long-listed for WW Solo Award, work exhibited in group exhibition at WW Gallery, Hatton Garden, London
Selected for open submission Summer Exhibition, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford
Invited to show at Erotica Surreal and Abstract, Edinburgh Festival of Erotica
Selected for FAB Open Bath Fringe Festival
Selected for open submission exhibition, Inclusions, The Stone Space, Leytonstone
Selected for open submission group exhibition, Kitsch, Broadwalk Arts, Bristol

2011 
Selected for the National Open Art exhibition at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester
Unravel, Group exhibition, part of Canterbury Festival
Invited to be part of Vessel, a group exhibition in three Canterbury churches, curated by Patricia Wilson Smith and Jill Robin as part of Canterbury Festival.
Violet Kesby and Sally Hewett, an exhibition of my Grandmother’s and my work which I curated at the Fishslab Gallery, Whitstable
Selected for the Cork Street Open Exhibition, London
Selected for open submission exhibition HerStory by Womens Work, Link Gallery, University of Winchester
 Horsebridge Centre, Whitstable, solo exhibition

2010     
Finalist in the National Open Art Competition - work exhibited at the Minerva Theatre Chichester
Selected for open submission exhibition Picturing Science, The Riverside Gallery, Richmond on Thames
Selected for open submission exhibition Making it/Faking it, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham
Selected for open submission exhibition Art in Woodstock

 Lectures/Seminars

2014 Illustrated talk given to the Wey Valley Workshop – a group of mixed media textile artists based near Godalming in Surrey.

Galleries/Shops/websites

Feature article in Toh! Italian online Magazine, 2015. Feature article in Huffington Post online magazine, 2014. Feature article in Cosmopolitan, online magazine, 2014. Feature article in Origo.hu, Hungarian online magazine. Featured in online Gallery Lenta.ru, Russian online magazine. Feature articles on My work appears on many websites including Zickermans, a Swedish online Art and Craft Magazine, features on the Mr X Stitch and Craftster websites and on the Drowning Dogs website, was used by Linda Colsh, (Studio Art Quilts Associates) in a webinar addressing the question of what is a quilt? Features on www.Juxtapoz.com; www.cakeheadlovesevil.wordpress.com; http://www.styleitlikeyoustoleit.com; http://www.hemslojd-tidningen.se/zickermans/tag/sally-hewett/http://www.zickermans.se; www.tumblr.com;  http://www.ensvarte.com; http://indulgy.com. My work has been shown at Coco de Mer, Covent Garden and has been bought for collections including the Norfolk Museums Textile collection, Pride of the Valley Sculpture Park, Farnham and for private collections in USA, France and the UK

 Publications

My work features in a new publication from Bare Hill Publishing, The State of Art: Sculpture and 3D, vol II; Silvery Threads catalogue 2014;  EroticaMENTE, catalogue 2014; WW Solo Award Catalogue, 2012; Cork Street Open Catalogue, 2011; HerStory by Womens Work Catalogue, 2011; National Open Art Competition Catalogue, 2010 and 2011; Brighton Art Fair Catalogue, 2009. Articles on my work have featured on the Mr X Stitch website and my work has been shown as part of an ongoing discussion on the SAQA website (Studio Art Quilt Association). My work was selected by The Antiques Trade Gazette for their feature on the 2009 Brighton Art Fair