Samara Contemporary is pleased to present Surface Play, an exhibition of work by Canadian textile artists Lindy Fyfe and Ruth Adler, curated by Rafi Ghanaghounian. The exhibition is an exploration of the artists’ respective investigations into textile as painting. Both Adler and Fyfe employ textiles as the chief component in their work, however their approaches contain more similarities than their outcomes.

Fyfe, who works with recycled fabric from thrift shops, breathes new life into discarded materials through harnessing their existing forms and patterns, translating them into new compositions. This creative and intuitive process results in abstract compositions that strongly reference the masters of modernist painting including Rothko and Mondrian, but also hint at the earth’s topographic surfaces.

Adler’s similar creative impulse is reflected in the vibrant assemblages she constructs through material conversations. When looking at the structural appearance of her works, it becomes clear that Adler gains inspiration from anatomy and architecture, among other things. Utilizing textile remnants as well as water-based inks and paints, her pieces reference the aesthetics of fashion and other cultural forms.

When: On view now. Exhibition runs till September 29

Where: Samara Contemporary, 156 Augusta Ave, Kensington Market

ABOUT RUTH ADLER

Ruth Adler’s work has been exhibited internationally since the 1980s. She has presented numerous solo exhibitions including, Jim Kempner Fine Art (New York), Lonsdale Gallery (Toronto) and Lorber Gallery (Tel Aviv). In the 80s and throughout the 90s she ran her own t-shirt label in Tel Aviv and designed t-shirts for Marci Lipman (Toronto). Ruth received awards and grants for her work including a Bravo Fact award for her video “How Yellowknife Got Its Name.” She has also did commissions for the Iroquois Hotel (New York) and The Schneider Children's Medical Centre (Petach Tiqvah, Israel). In 2000 Ruth began making her digital circles on paper that are currently represented by Artstar (New York). Ruth currently lives and works in Toronto and Tel Aviv.

ABOUT LINDY FYFE

Lindy Fyfe is a visual artist based in Toronto where she maintains an active studio practice concentrating on painting, fabric construction, drawing and collage. In 2010 The Robert McLaughlin Gallery presented 'Confluence', a major solo exhibition surveying Fyfe's work across her full range of media. In 2014 she installed a solo exhibition of fabric work as a component of World of Threads, Oakville, and participated in Fibreworks 2014, at the Cambridge Galleries. In 2015 Fyfe was selected as a finalist for the Salt Spring National Art Prize exhibition in British Columbia, was included in the annual Art With Heart auction in Toronto, and had a solo exhibition, titled Shift Twist, at Verso Gallery in Toronto. In 2016 she installed Tilt, a site-specific work at *QueenSpecific in Toronto. In 2019 her work will be included again in the annual Art With Heart auction to be held at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

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