Martha Clippinger: Interwoven (Reception)
Horace Williams House 610 E Rosemary St, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514

Martha Clippinger
"cuadricula", 31 1/2" x 24"
Not all art is “about.” Or rather, art doesn’t have to be about—it can also just be. Martha Clippinger’s solo show at the Horace Williams House, which is on view for the rest of March after this Sunday afternoon reception, consists of colorful geometric shapes and patterns in fabric, fiber, or wood that offer sheer optical pleasure. Clippinger has an uncanny ability to create color relationships that are both contrasting and complementary. The shapes she chooses and the constructions into which she assembles them vary widely, but they’re always absolutely balanced and complete without feeling closed or overworked. Bridging worlds of art and craft, she makes collages and assemblages as well as practical objects like quilts and rugs. Whether you look at Clippinger’s work effortlessly or with analytical rigor, you feel drawn in. This is a space where everything different from everything else coexists and makes sense. Huh. Maybe that’s what it’s about.