Lisa Hinrichs
Material Alchemy
September 2 - October 29, 2022
Opening Reception September 2, 5-8 PM
Alchemy (definition)
1. The medieval forerunner of chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter. It was concerned particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold or to find a universal elixir.
2. A seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination.
The act of making is an ongoing conversation between the materials and Hinrichs’ hands, mind, and spirit. Each piece speaks to her and she responds to the evolving landscape of her work. As Hinrichs changes the materials, the materials change the artist, as well. She falls into the intuitive path and comes out on the other side changed. Issues of fragility and resilience are expressed, revealed, and resolved.
Humble materials, wool and paper, bond and merge; two materials becoming something entirely new during the process of making. The result is a paper/wool hybrid with beautiful texture and a cloth-like hand. Each piece finds its own way and Hinrichs responds to changes in the material with her own stitching, mending, and paint in an intuitive way. Using the gifts of the earth to make the inks and paints used on these pieces reminds her of her connection to the natural world.
Hinrichs’ work is equally informed by the structures and grids of architecture, the patched and mended fabrics of old quilts, and Japanese rustic minimalism. While she aspires to spacious simplicity, she strives to make her art intimate in its detailed textures and inviting to closely inspect and touch. The layers of paper, fabric and wool, ink, and stitch that result in the textures and colors are sometimes, but not always, visible on the surface of the work, but are integral to her process. The layers reveal and conceal just enough to let the viewers find their own stories in the work.
About the Artist
Lisa Hinrichs is a fiber and mixed media artist living in St. Louis, Missouri. After years of learning through experimentation and seeking out national and international teachers in the fiber art community, Lisa now happily spends her days making art in a sunshine-filled studio overlooking the Missouri River where she is a juried studio artist at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, Missouri.
Lisa holds a BS in Housing and Interior Design from the University of Missouri, and later studied Graphic Design at SLCC. While she has moved on from earlier careers in architecture and graphic design, her love of a well-designed structure or elegantly composed page finds its way into her current work.
Material Alchemy will be on exhibit through October 29th in the Ameristar Gallery, the home gallery of the Foundry Art Centre’s studio artists.