Layers of Meaning

Megan Whitmarsh - pop culture embroideries

Megan Whitmarsh creates pop culture modern embroideries of yetis, space travellers and battling elf maidens. The size is small: 3" X 5" to 8" X 8". Whitmarsh draws from her background as an art school painting major to bring a contemporary sensibility to embroidery. The backgrounds are stretched plain fabric. The imagery creates a sense of alienation from the real world and escape to a world of pop culture fantasy. Whitmarsh further explores the emotional isolation of being a yeti in the short film, The Life of a Yeti.

"Whitmarsh's work primarily consists of embroidered depictions of Yetis, Elves and various pop icons. These characters are sewn in numerous arrangements over monochromatic stretched fabrics. Scenes include socializing Yetis, people from the future chased by geometric shapes, or Elf-girls chatting on cell phones. For her first show with Sixtyseven Whitmarsh presents her most recent embroideries, a series of drawings and a video entitled 'The Life of a Yeti'. Whitmarsh’s choice of medium bring to mind the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1970’s while other elements in her work relate Minimalism and Pop Art. Since her cast of characters is sewn over flat backgrounds, the pieces resemble color field paintings with little specks of color. A closer look reveals a tiny cigarette held by a Yeti or a golden necklace worn by an Elf. Some pieces include more familiar references: The band Kiss or Darth Vader can be found inhabiting a monochrome… Other pieces include art historical inserts: A Yeti next to a Franz Kline painting, King Kong staring at a Robert Indiana sculpture and so on." from "Forest Logic" at Sixtyseven gallery.

"For moonboots and barrettes, elves and cigarettes, Whitmarsh will present her exquisite embroidery on fabric pieces that combine this traditional medium with depictions of elements in pop-culture such as yetis and battling elf girls. While the size of her work ranges from small to large, her characters remain tiny and detailed, forcing the viewer to literally peer into her worlds. Sumpter, part of the new school of illustration, will be exhibiting paintings on paper using gouache, ink and watercolor. Her work has been described as "…delicate ink lines, and subtle attention to detail complement and subvert the lightness of her drawings' and her 'icon-like imagery resembles....children's books found in antique stores, but with a modernist composition and adult subject matter'. Megan Whitmarsh graduated with a BFA in painting from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1993. She completed her MFA studies at the University of New Orleans in 1997 with the aid of a full fellowship. Upon graduating she migrated to Williamsburg, Brooklyn where she magnified the role of embroidery in her art. She makes a comic 'Snow Monkeys' and various merchandise under the moniker 'Tiny Industries'." from not starving artists