Artist statement
Joanna Kinnersly-Taylor is a printed textile artist and designer, and works from her studio in Glasgow. The scope of her practice embraces a wide range of textiles, from architectural commissions - public and domestic - to one-off works for galleries; she also produces three ranges of domestic linens that take inspiration from a culinary theme.
Specialising in site-specific, often large-scale wallhangings and panels for public spaces, she has undertaken commissions for a variety of environments that range from a hospital dining room to a quayside. The content of her work may be figurative or abstract and is often symbolic, poetically keying into the memory and nature of the space it occupies as well as reflecting activities within.
There is a theme of memory and the home running through much of her smaller works and photographing and drawing the everyday or commonplace is often a starting point. Images have their context altered through being magnified, manipulated or abstracted, and are translated through a series of layers to create new intimate 'landscapes'. Through dyeing and screen-printing on natural fabrics such as linen and wool, she experiments with scale and repetition, producing visual rhythms that evoke a sense of recognition and seek to capture a particular moment, atmosphere or environment.
Joanna's work has been exhibited widely, both in the UK and abroad and often as a member of the '62 Group of Textile Artists'; it has also appeared in books and magazines. A & C Black published her book 'Dyeing and Screen-Printing on Textiles in 2003, a technical manual which has proved highly popular for students and professionals alike and which she is currently updating for a second edition due out in March 2012. Joanna also runs five day and weekend courses from her studio.
Qualifications and training
- 1994 Master of Design, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland
- 1988 BA Hons. Printed Textiles, Surrey Institute of Art and Design, Farnham, Surrey
Solo exhibitions
- 2002 Joanna Kinnersly-Taylor, The Hub, in association with The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
Group exhibitions
- 2012 62@50, Holden Gallery, Manchester
- 2011 'Perpetual Mapping', part of 'Textiles, Silver, Wood', Danish Cultural Institute, Edinburgh
- 2009 Bending the Line, Hub - The National Centre for Craft and Design, Sleaford, Lincolnshire
- 2009 Awaken, Mackintosh Gallery, Glasgow School of Art, Scotland
- 2008 Brilliant, Northern Print, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- 2007 62 Group of Textile Artists at The Knitting and Stitching Show, Alexandra Palace, London and touring to Birmingham, Dublin and Harrogate
- 2006 Committere, Atrium Gallery, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow
- 2006 'craftscotland' at the Homes & Interiors Scotland show, SECC, Glasgow
- 2005 The Artist and Radio 4, Bankside Gallery, London
- 2005 Surface, Structure, Shape, Axis Gallery, Tokyo
- 2004 Blue and White Christmas, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
- 2004 Midcentury Modern, Dulwich College, London
- 2004 Of Material Concern, Millenium Galleries, Sheffield
- 2004 Wish You Were Here, Crafts Council Shop, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- 2003 Chelsea Crafts Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London
- 2003 New Formations 3, The Lighthouse, Glasgow
- 2003 Very Domesticated!, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee
- 2002 In Context, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- 2002 Chelsea Crafts Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London
- 2002 Textiles in Context, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- 2002 Tablecloths, Gallerie Handwerk, Munich, Germany
- 2001 Making an Impression, Bankfield Museum, Halifax
- 2001 Red, Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery and touring
- 2000 Out of the Garden, Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead
- 2000 To Boldly Sew, Textiles for the 21st Century, McManus galleries, Dundee
- 1999 Relish - The Craft, Design and Art of Dining. Oriel Myrrdin, Camarthen, Wales
- 1999 On and Off the Wall, Maidstone Museum and Art Gallery, Kent
- 1999 Textiles to Hang and to Wear, An Tuirrean Arts Centre, Isle of Skye
- 1998 Objects of Desire, Christmas Show, Roger Billcliffe Fine Art, Glasgow
- 1998 SELECT, Works exploring the Crossover between Fine and Applied Art, Crawford Arts Centre, St Andrew's, Fife
- 1998 50/50, Opera House, Tel Aviv, Israel
- 1997 Society of Scottish Artists, Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
- 1997 Artisan, Edinburgh International Conference Centre
- 1997 The Language of Touch, Collins Gallery, Glasgow and The Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford
- 1997 Cross Reference, venues throughout Great Britain
- 1997 Design for Living, Cambridge Contemporary Art, Cambridge
- 1996 Chelsea Crafts Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, London
- 1993 The Commissioning Dialogue, Mall Galleries, London
- 1990 Image and Object: The Avant-Gardes of London, Pompidou Centre, Paris; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; Axis Gallery, Tokyo and six other cities in Japan
Private commissions
- 1992 Wallhangings, Dalziell House, Motherwell, Scotland
Public commissions
- 2012 'A Thread Runs Through It', Airdrie Community Health Centre, Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland
- 2006 Surface design for Formica reception desk, Northern Print Studio, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- 2005 'Wavelengths', series of temporary externally-sited works, Northern Print Studio, Fish Quay, North Shields, Tyne & Wear
- 2004 Three works for the Admissions Reception, Mater Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland
- 2001 Series of four wallhangings in the Atrium, Mater Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland
- 1999 Twelve linen banners, re-creating Margaret MacDonald's original designs, House for an Art Lover, Bellahouston Park, Glasgow
- 1998 Series of wallhangings and rug for reception area, Innovation Centre, Westlakes Science & Technology Park, near Whitehaven, Cumbria
- 1995 Series of sixteen wall stretched linen wall pieces, Ayr Hopsital Staff Dining Room, Ayr, Scotland
- 1991 Altar Hangings, City Crematorium, Cambridge
- 1989 Printed velvets and silks for costumes for Richard Eyre's production of Hamlet, National Theatre, London
Competitions, prizes and awards
- 2011 Craft Makers Award, Glasgow Life and Creative Scotland, Glasgow
- 2005 Professional Development Award, Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh
- 1998 Award for Individual Development, Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh
- 1997 Award for Individual Development, Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh
- 1989 Setting-up Grant, Crafts Council, London
Educational experience - tertiary
- 2009 Visiting lecturer, Department of Textiles, Hull College of Art and Design, Hull
- 2006 Visiting lecturer, Textiles and Surface Pattern, Grays School of Art, Aberdeen
- 2005 Tutor in Textiles, Open College of the Arts, distance learning
- 2004 Visiting Lecturer to BA (Hons) Textiles & MA Textile Culture, Norwich School of Art and Design, Norwich
- 1999 Research Lecturer, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland
- 1999 Visiting Lecturer to BA (Hons) Textiles, Norwich School of Art and Design, Norwich
Publications
- 2008 'Textiles Now' by Drusilla Cole, pub. Laurence King
- 2007 'Patterns' by Drusilla Cole, pub. Laurence King
- 2003 'Dyeing and Screen-Printing on Textiles' by Joanna Kinnersly-Taylor, pub. A & C Black
- 2002 'The Buyers' Guide to Contemporary British Textiles for the Interior', pub. Crafts Council
- 1998 'Time for Design 2' Good Practice in Building, Landscape and Urban Design, pub. English Partnerships
- 1998 'New British Design 1998' by Peta Levi, pub. Mitchell Beazley
- 1991 'The New Textiles' by Chloe Colchester, pub. Thames & Hudson (as Joanna Gordon)
Other
- 2005 Trade Mission, Crafts Council, Japan
- 2003 Selected for membership to Design Nation, The Design Trust, London
- 1997 Selected for membership to the '62 Group of Textile Artists', exhibiting group, worldwide membership
- 1995 Selected for inclusion on the 'Index of Selected Makers', Crafts Council, London
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