Explore The Grid of Women’s Artworks at Rosetta M. Hunter Gallery

A grid is a series of intersections: real or imagined lines that demarcate and converge to create a pattern. Grids are used in our systems of computing, to balance the distribution of electrical power, in many of our cities’ street layouts, and have long been utilized as a tool of craftsmanship and artistic expression (Agnes Martin’s 1960s works, quilts such as those by Agatha Bennet, and multiple works by Sol Lewitt in the 1960s and 1970s are just some examples).

“The Grid” at Seattle Central’s Rosetta M. Hunter gallery features women whose works tap into the allure of the grid in distinctive ways.

Valerie Calano (aka DJ Explorateur) uses thousands of perler beads (small, multicolored plastic beads that are arranged in patterns, then heated to fuse the beads together) to produce intricate, vivid, quilt-like compositions, reminiscent of mid-century Bauhaus art. Calano’s initiation to perler beads as a medium came when she found a bucket of the beads in a free pile. Years later, her inventive works show an expert hand at capturing pattern, color, and mood.

“Andy’s Ambition” by Jane Richlovsky / The Evergreen Echo

The featured works of Jane Richlovsky showcase an array of mediums—animated video installations, screenprints, and (in my opinion) the most eye-catching: the floor-to-ceiling installation “Andy’s Ambition” (cut-stencil screen print, hand-cut birch ply, 2024).

“Andy’s Ambition” takes over a corner of the gallery; the intersecting neon greens and pinks of the background create a “Magic Eye”-3D-like canvas, while the hanging grid pieces invite the viewer to visually enter a new world. As a child of the ‘90s, this was the cyber future aesthetic we were all promised—a vibrant, geometric space to escape our humdrum reality. And I want to dive in.

Detail of “Wrapper” by Sheila Klein / The Evergreen Echo

Slightly more subtle, but just as arresting, are Sheila Klein’s textile works. Klein’s early days as an architect shine through in her weavings and crochet, which incorporate recycled materials and traditional mediums like linen, wool, cotton, and more intriguing textures such as stainless steel yarn.

Klein sees her role as a material performance, a remaking. While at first glance, Eastern Building (Crocheted cotton & rayon, 2022), and Map of Everything (Crocheted stainless steel yarn & cotton, 2008) seem to be simple textiles, a closer look reveals the detail, the mixing of patterns, and the stories held within. In a more complex work, “Wrapper” (Chorisera, vintage coverlet, linen & wool, 2023), the strong grid pattern of the foundation is obscured by lines of fibers that culminate at the edges in an elaborate weaving, giving it the appearance of a shroud through which we catch glimpses of the origin.

Through a fascinating convergence of mid-century aesthetics, architecture-inspired installations, and hypnotizing animations, “The Grid” offers viewers a unique opportunity to experience how these artists reconstruct the simplicity of a grid into multifaceted works that connect traditional craftsmanship and contemporary technology.

---

“The Grid” runs September 23-October 31st at Rosetta M. Hunter Gallery (Seattle Central College). The opening reception is Thursday, October 10th, 4-7pm for Capitol Hill Art Walk.