The artists I have selected from the BRIC Registry use a broad reach of tactile media including textiles, sewing, crochet and woodwork—many of which as a craft or practice are centuries old. Decades ago, artists collapsed the notion that these traditional media are for conventional use only, embedding them with contemporary issues and conceptual ideas. Is it a collective need in our techno-driven age to reconnect with tradition and the era of handmade objects? This group of artists demonstrates a rich cross-fertilization between crafts and contemporary art. The work—abstract, surreal and conceptual—focuses on the multifaceted connotations of domesticity, handicraft, fashion, social statement and machine-produced art. Even when the techniques are familiar, the materials can range from standard embroidery floss and yarn to plastics, wood, wire, hair, flax and rope. The juxtaposition of traditional techniques and new materials is common practice in works where the personal or nostalgic often becomes simultaneously ironic, political, feminist, funny. Many of the works examine the disparity between high and low art by deconstructing the sentimental idea of a sampler or teapot cozy. They offer us a bridge from what we thought we knew about domestic arts—as "women's work" or "craft"—to a continued appreciation of media with endless artistic potential. - Carrie Lederer Curator of Exhibitions Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts Walnut Creek, California  

ARTISTS Franky Laude Romy Scheroder Sarah Knouse Ian Addison Hall Susan Benarcik Isabelle Garbani Christina Massey Lael Marhsall Eliot Markell Monique Luchetti Feng-Tsung Chan Mariel Harari Kate Minford Vandana Jain Cyrilla Mozenter Cecilia De Corral Jacob N Rhodes Melissa Zexter Laura Splan Iviva Olenick J Carpenter Wilder Alison Petros Chrisostomou  

About the short list curator:

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Carrie Lederer, Artist; Curator of Exhibitions and Programs, Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek Carrie Lederer has curated informative, stimulating and provocative exhibitions at the Bedford Gallery since 1993. Her most recent curatorial project was New Neon: Light, Paint and Photography an international exhibition in scope. Taking its cue from the revival of neon in art and pop culture the show examined how the medium has been repurposed in sculptural, painterly and photographic practices to reflect the cadence and drama of our media-saturated cultural landscape. Lederer has organized a number of exhibitions that have traveled nationally including Full Deck:A Short History of Skate Art, Home: Shelter and Habitat in Contemporary Art and forthcoming BLOW UP: Inflatable Contemporary Art. She also manages the Walnut Creek's growing Public Art Program. In addition to her work as a curator, Ms. Lederer is an award-winning artist whose paintings have been exhibited throughout the Bay Area, in Los Angeles, New York, and Berlin. Recent exhibitions include Turtle Bay Museum, Berkeley Art Center, and William Havu Gallery in Denver CO. Lederer studied at Michigan State University, where she earned a BFA in Sculpture, and BA in Arts Education.