The “extreme textiles” exhibit at the Artstream Gallery in Rochester features four artists who combine alternative materials with nontraditional ideas to create provocative artwork. Quilts stitched with ornate images, framed collages made from recycled materials, black wire dresses of varying sizes, porcelain tea sets and more fill the room.

“They’re really fine art pieces at the edge of textile,” said Artstream co-owner Susan Schwake-Larochelle. “We’ve wanted to do a textile show for the four years that we’ve been here, and really we were waiting for the right group.”

That group includes Danny Mansmith, Leigh Pennebaker, Kimberly Lyford and Alyssa Ettinger. The eclectic artists have dramatically different styles, but they share an affinity for work that pushes boundaries. The exhibit will remain on display at the gallery on North Main Street until the end of April.

Mansmith, who lives in Chicago, currently has five exhibits on display across the country. He uses a sewing machine to stitch images around pieces of junk mail, newspaper clippings, receipts and other everyday materials.

“I use the sewing machine as a tool to put materials together, sort of like a collage,” Mansmith says in his artist’s statement.
“The idea of juxtaposition is really exciting to me, and I try to push myself to mix together different materials.”

In one piece, called “Arson,” Mansmith uses red fabric to create an image of a radiant woman who seems to be ablaze. Matches surround her, and a single burnt match rests in the center of her torso. To her left is an old matchbox cover, and to her right is a patch with the word “pyro.”

Mansmith also creates wearable garments from recycled materials, and Artstream visitors are invited to try them on. Multi-colored scarves spill over a tree in the gallery window, and a selection of cuffs hangs on the wall.

Lyford, who lives in the Hanover area, creates garments that are not so easily worn. Among them is a tall brown dress called the “Daphne Gown,” made from tafetta, crepe, boning and wire, designed to resemble a tree. Her work also includes a pair of full-size leather corsets called “Rage and Regret, parts one and two.” The first corset has dozens of outward pointing nails, while the second has an equal number of inward pointing nails.

“Making garments that are not in the least functional, but are alluring and express a concept, especially a metaphor, is where my passion is thriving at this point of my life,” Lyford says in her artist’s statement. “My quilts are layered in fabric illustrations, which threaten toward three dimensions, and have no interest in being utilitarian. Today at least, textile is my clay and my paint.”

Pennebaker, who hails from Mississippi but now lives in Manhattan, uses industrial fencing and rebar tie-wire to produce meticulous sculptures of dresses. Her artwork has an almost obsessive quality, with relatively non-pliable materials manipulated into detailed patterns.

“With each wire dress I explore the presence of the female form and gesture without sculpting representations of actual body parts,” Pennebaker says in her artist’s statement. “I allude to physical bearing, spirit and impulse through sculpted clothing.”

Alyssa Ettinger utilizes sweater sleeves and cable knit materials to mold porcelain into common pottery items such as plates, vases, coasters and cups. The unique texture of the items stimulates the senses of both sight and touch. The ceramic artist is from southern Vermont but currently lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Schwake-Larochelle said the exhibit has garnered a great deal of interest since the displays went up on March 1. Mansmith’s garments and Pennebaker’s wire dresses have been especially hot sellers. “We’ve had people from all over the Northeast come to see this show,” Schwake-Larochelle said.