Mary Tooley Parker: The Crystal: Solo Exhibition

PRESS RELEASE

MARY TOOLEY PARKER

The Crystal

February 23 - March 31, 2024

A long lifetime

People and places

And the crisis of mankind—

What survives is the crystal—

Infinitely small—

Infinitely large—

             --Kenneth Rexroth, A Long Lifetime

BOSTON — LaiSun Keane is proud to present The Crystal, Mary Tooley Parker’s first solo exhibition with the gallery, on view from February 23 to March 31, 2024. This exhibition features all new and never shown works by Tooley Parker where the artist explores the subject of interiors and everyday life through the medium of rug hooking. We have worked with her in three gallery group exhibitions and presented her work at 2021 edition of Spring/Break Art in New York City.

In the past 4 years, the world has witnessed a pandemic, social upheaval, and brutal wars. Amidst the turmoil, Tooley Parker seeks refuge in the things that do not change — warm memories of people and places— and recreates them with soft, hand-woven rugs. As a result, the feelings of happiness and comfort become immortalized, a tangible reprieve to an onslaught of stress. “Each piece becomes a crystal brought up from the past. They shine, heal, exist, and resonate,” Parker writes and befittingly, titled this exhibition The Crystal. 

Tooley Parker prides in being a self-taught textile artist. While she did not have a visual arts education, she has an artistic background in dance and music. She practices traditional rug making techniques, which includes spinning and dyeing her own yarn, then pulling them through a linen foundation with a handheld hook. This slow and intimate making allows her to think, revise, adjust, and live in her creative process, with “no rush to get it done.” Parker also incorporates metallic fibers and non-traditional materials in her own work, such as adding film tape for bright city lights, and fleece for clouds and hair. She then manipulates the color values, length, and height of the loops to create shape and texture.

Tooley Parker’s connection with textiles has several dimensions. She had been enthralled by the medium since she was eight, and finds that the brain receives textile art differently from paintings. At first, the softness and stippled effect on the fabric create a feeling of warmth and familiarity before registering a visual image. Additionally, the art of rug hooking has been used by women to express themselves during times of struggle and difficulty. Where rug hooking was once seen as a craft,  Parker aims to carry it into a contemporary landscape to be viewed as fine art.

Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact us at info@laisunkeane.com.