Vol. 18, No. 18	Feb. 4, 1999

Shaping and molding of women focus of artist's work

An opening reception is scheduled from 4-6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 5, and a closing reception will be held from 4-5 p.m., Saturday, March 6.

An artist lecture is scheduled at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 17. in 004 Kirkbride Hall. All events are free and open to the public.

Dutch-born fiber artist Annet Couwenberg makes much of the rich subject of reconfiguraion-the shaping and molding of women.

Writing of her work, J. Susan Isaacs, professor of art history at Towson University, said, "Couwenberg believes that clothing acts as a metaphor for the relationship between the outer and inner worlds; garments corset the female figure, pushing it painfully into a more 'beautiful' form. The exterior vision of the dominant culture competes with the individual's inner desire for physical comfort. Attractiveness is determined by power structures: by the fashion world, by Western history, by the male gaze. Consumerism-the need for things- further permeates Western society, so much so that the ability to determine what we really need is all but lost."

Couwenberg's sculptures include engaging corset forms, alluring insect-like cocoons and courageous badges. The works honor personal and universal female experiences. As contemporary icons, they are emblematic of the perpetual courage required of women from all times or backgrounds to take on and carry out reconfiguration challenges.

The mixed material, three-dimensional structures, reminiscent of complexly corseted female figures, address 20th-century social issues symbolically as opposing visual forces. They catch viewers off guard because although the figures seem at first to be self-supporting, they are actually dependent on subtle tethers for gravity-defying suspension and stability. Humanities' links such as historic attitudes toward body, clothing and fiber are important to Couwenberg.

Couwenberg is chair of the fibers program at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She holds an MFA degree from Crandbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and a bachelor's degree in textile arts and education, from the School of Textiles, "De Windroos," Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions and was awarded the 1997 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award and the 1989 Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship.

Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.

For information call, 831-2244.