Nava Lubelski
Lubelski explores the contradictions between the impulse to destroy and the compulsion to mend. She juxtaposes rapid acts of destruction, such as spilling and cutting, with painstaking, restorative labor. Embroideries are hand-stitched over stains and rips, contrasting the accidental with the meticulous, constructing narrative from randomness and mistake. The initial marks are found on linens or are created by cutting and staining canvas. The work scrambles expressions of aggression with masochistic patience and sublimation and plays with the feminine through the graphic form of the "stain" and the adding of peek-a-boo, lace inlays to repair cut holes that expose the hidden space behind the canvas. Shadows on the wall add a sculptural dimension and some pieces are hung off the wall to reveal the secret and unintended marks of the verso. Her works on paper are an attempted to "repair" the long-lost original tree, and an examination of feelings of despair about waste and the unsustainable while simultaneously responding to the shadow impulse to hoard and keep what is no longer needed.
Amy Shaw, "Nava Lubelski at LMAKprojects", Greenjeans Blog, Jan. 26, 2009
Karen Rosenberg, "Art in Review: Nava Lubelski", The New York Times, Jan. 23, 2009
Iván López Munuera, "¿Es Posible Un Picasso de Los Tapetes de Crochet?", Pasajes Diseño, Dec., 2008
Frédérique Joseph-Lowery, "Embroidery Goes Contemporary", Art Press, Dec. 2008
The Buhl Collection, 2009 Calendar, Dec., 2008
Nick Smith, "Embroidered Truth: Mend is a modern use of old-fashioned threads", Charleston City Paper, Nov. 12, 2008
L'Etoile Magazine Staff, Friday Art Pick: Nava Lubelski, Twin Cities Daily Planet, July 3, 2008
Nadine Monem, Contemporary Textiles: The Fabric of Fine Art (London: Black Dog Publishing, 2008)
Stacy Perman, "Business Advice for Artists from Artists", BusinessWeek.com, April 11, 2008
Ursula Gullow, "Art Seen Asheville - Nava Lubelski", URTV, April, 2008
Jill Ingram, "Guideposts: Artist Profile, Nava Lubelski", WNC Magazine, March/April, 2008
"News: Extreme Embroidery", Embroidery Magazine (U.K.), March/April, 2008
New American Paintings, #74 Northeast, February/March, 2008
Barbara A. MacAdam, "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery", ARTnews, February, 2008
Andrea DiNoto, "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery", American Craft, Jan. 24, 2008
"Goings on About Town: Art", The New Yorker, Dec. 3, 2007
"Home & Garden Calendar: Stitchery", The New York Times, Nov. 22, 2007
Leslie Camhi, "Let's Get Stitched: A radical take on an old art, 'Pricked' needles the traditional craft of embroidery", The Village Voice, Nov. 20, 2007
Hillary Rhodes, "Photo Package: Embroidery Gets 'Extreme'", Associated Press, Nov. 15, 2007
Joel Withrow, "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery", Flavorpill, Nov. 8, 2007
David Revere McFadden, Pricked: Extreme Embroidery (New York: the Museum of Arts & Design, 2007)
Ariella Budick, "Objects Round the House Now Objets d'Art at Islip", Newsday, Oct. 19, 2007
Arthur Whitman, "Artists I Like: Nava Lubelski", Art & Perception, Jun. 26, 2007
Bara Sapir, "Portfolio: Nava Lubelski," Zeek, August, 2006
Cate McQuaid, "Paintings Make the Domestic Daring," The Boston Globe, Mar. 18, 2005
Jonathan Fardy, "Invention and Tradition in Six Shows," ARTSmedia, Mar/Apr, 2005
James Reed, “They Just Want to Have Fun,” The Boston Globe, Mar. 5, 2005
Christopher Howard, "Queens International 2004," The Brooklyn Rail, Feb, 2005
Mindy Bond & Raphie Frank, "Nava Lubelski, Artist and Author," gothamist.com, Jan. 5, 2005
Cate McQuaid, "Exhibits Provide New Viewpoints on the 50s," The Boston Globe, Feb. 20, 2004
Carly Carioli, "Editor's Picks," The Boston Phoenix, Feb. 8, 2004
Marianne Rohrich, "Walls With Personality," The New York Times, Oct. 10, 1996
Karen Rosenberg, "Art in Review: Nava Lubelski", The New York Times, Jan. 23, 2009
Iván López Munuera, "¿Es Posible Un Picasso de Los Tapetes de Crochet?", Pasajes Diseño, Dec., 2008
Frédérique Joseph-Lowery, "Embroidery Goes Contemporary", Art Press, Dec. 2008
The Buhl Collection, 2009 Calendar, Dec., 2008
Nick Smith, "Embroidered Truth: Mend is a modern use of old-fashioned threads", Charleston City Paper, Nov. 12, 2008
L'Etoile Magazine Staff, Friday Art Pick: Nava Lubelski, Twin Cities Daily Planet, July 3, 2008
Nadine Monem, Contemporary Textiles: The Fabric of Fine Art (London: Black Dog Publishing, 2008)
Stacy Perman, "Business Advice for Artists from Artists", BusinessWeek.com, April 11, 2008
Ursula Gullow, "Art Seen Asheville - Nava Lubelski", URTV, April, 2008
Jill Ingram, "Guideposts: Artist Profile, Nava Lubelski", WNC Magazine, March/April, 2008
"News: Extreme Embroidery", Embroidery Magazine (U.K.), March/April, 2008
New American Paintings, #74 Northeast, February/March, 2008
Barbara A. MacAdam, "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery", ARTnews, February, 2008
Andrea DiNoto, "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery", American Craft, Jan. 24, 2008
"Goings on About Town: Art", The New Yorker, Dec. 3, 2007
"Home & Garden Calendar: Stitchery", The New York Times, Nov. 22, 2007
Leslie Camhi, "Let's Get Stitched: A radical take on an old art, 'Pricked' needles the traditional craft of embroidery", The Village Voice, Nov. 20, 2007
Hillary Rhodes, "Photo Package: Embroidery Gets 'Extreme'", Associated Press, Nov. 15, 2007
Joel Withrow, "Pricked: Extreme Embroidery", Flavorpill, Nov. 8, 2007
David Revere McFadden, Pricked: Extreme Embroidery (New York: the Museum of Arts & Design, 2007)
Ariella Budick, "Objects Round the House Now Objets d'Art at Islip", Newsday, Oct. 19, 2007
Arthur Whitman, "Artists I Like: Nava Lubelski", Art & Perception, Jun. 26, 2007
Bara Sapir, "Portfolio: Nava Lubelski," Zeek, August, 2006
Cate McQuaid, "Paintings Make the Domestic Daring," The Boston Globe, Mar. 18, 2005
Jonathan Fardy, "Invention and Tradition in Six Shows," ARTSmedia, Mar/Apr, 2005
James Reed, “They Just Want to Have Fun,” The Boston Globe, Mar. 5, 2005
Christopher Howard, "Queens International 2004," The Brooklyn Rail, Feb, 2005
Mindy Bond & Raphie Frank, "Nava Lubelski, Artist and Author," gothamist.com, Jan. 5, 2005
Cate McQuaid, "Exhibits Provide New Viewpoints on the 50s," The Boston Globe, Feb. 20, 2004
Carly Carioli, "Editor's Picks," The Boston Phoenix, Feb. 8, 2004
Marianne Rohrich, "Walls With Personality," The New York Times, Oct. 10, 1996
Sweet Chewy, 2009rnThread on stained canvasrn12 x 12 inchesrnrnrn
As It Is, 2008
Thrad, paint and ink stains on cut canvas
46 x 42 Inches
Thrad, paint and ink stains on cut canvas
46 x 42 Inches
Art Seen Asheville - an interview with Nava Lubelski, produced by Ursula Gullow for URTV
A Story About Frogs, 2008
Thread on stained muslin
20 x 26 inches
Thread on stained muslin
20 x 26 inches
Detail of 'A Story About Frogs', 2008
Rejection Letters, 2008
Cut paper and glue
1 x 20 x 20 inches
Cut paper and glue
1 x 20 x 20 inches
Detail of 'Rejection Letters', 2008
(a cast of my left hand in the shape of a) Glove v. 4, 2008
Thread, found trimmings and pins
10 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches
Thread, found trimmings and pins
10 x 4.5 x 2.5 inches