Touchstones Rochdale unveils “Mischief” this autumn with exclusive new exhibit

Touchstones Rochdale is showcasing American queer feminist artist Liz Collins’ first European exhibition in an exhibition running this autumn.

Liz Collins, a Brooklyn-based contemporary textile and fibre artist, is bringing her first European exhibition, Mischief to Rochdale from 1 October 2022.

The Mischief exhibition, created in collaboration with Touchstones Rochdale Gallery and museum and guest Curator Dr Julia Bryan-Wilson, will take over all four gallery spaces and see immersive installations transforming spaces with intricately hand-stitched wall pieces to industrially manufactured sculptural works.

Playing host to the exhibit’s first trip outside America, Mischief uses explosive patterns and colours to transform everyday life inspirations into a fun, mischievous aesthetic, exploring the boundaries between art and design through textiles and fibre.

Guest curator Julia Bryan-Wilson said: "With her bold textiles and radical graphics, Liz Collins creates dazzlingly powerful works. Her aesthetic mischief blurs the lines between art, craft, and design."

 

 

Complementing the Mischief exhibition will be “Queer, People, Places and Things”, an extra special exhibit co-curated by a group of LGBTQ+ Rochdale locals stemming from Liz’s desire to provide a platform for the voices of queer artists. 

Chase Waterman, part of the group involved in the special exhibit, said: “Taking part in the Liz Collins project so far has been a great experience, and my first queer artistic experience of this kind. It’s been inspiring to look at so much art throughout history from queer artists and creators, to learn about their lives and to feel connected to them in such a personal way.”

This one-of-a-kind exhibit will include works curated from the Juan Yarur Torres Collection, a prominent collector and president of Fundacion AMA in Chile, a leading arts organisation which promotes, researches and supports the development of modern and contemporary art by Chilean and South American artists.

Working in partnership with Fundacion AMA twenty works from the collection have been chosen and generously loaned for display as part of ‘Queer People, Places and Things’, chosen by Collins and Bryan Wilson for their queer aesthetic. Works by leading South American artists such as Francisco Copello and the photographer Paz Errazuriz sit alongside internationally recognised artists from the collection such as Robert Indiana and Leonor Fini.

These twenty pieces of work will be shown alongside some significant pieces from the Rochdale Borough collections, The Walker Art Gallery and Bolton Museum & Art Gallery, all presented through a queer lens. 

Helen Beckett, Curatorial + Collections Engagement Coordinator at Touchstones, added: “It is really important that the collections and exhibitions at Touchstones reflect the diversity of the borough’s population, and we are all too aware that the ‘traditional’ approach to collecting has often left certain groups hidden or even completely erased from historic narratives due to discrimination and prejudice. 

“Whilst it’s important that our staff contribute to the process, we can only genuinely reinterpret our collections through collaboration with local LGBTQ+ identifying people, who have ownership over their culture and heritage in order to bring these stories, perspectives and interpretations to light.” 

Mischief is at Touchstones from Saturday 1 October 2022 – Sunday 8 January 2023.

Touchstones is open 10am - 5pm Wednesday - Saturday and 10am - 4pm on Sundays.

The exhibition is funded by Arts Council England, Granada Foundation and made possible with support from Fundación AMA in Chile.