Kettle, A.M., 2017.

More Threads

This mini-retrospective, Alice Kettle: More Threads is linked to the solo exhibition Threads. These two exhibitions demonstrate thread as a narrative cycle, used to depict contemporary event as a personal view, shown through the technical and stylistic development of Kettle's stitchwork. The metaphorical rhythm of stitching accompanies the motion of time, a ten year cycle marked through the repetition of images and events that interweave and loop back whilst simultaneously moving forward. Works are cross referenced as though a looped thread connects and describes the events through time. Recently created work, including Sunbathers (2017), two pieces from her Schiffili series, made in 2006, two of her three dimensional heads for which she is widely recognised and her iconic piece Hermes and the Lotus Eaters, 2003 are included in this collection. An accompanying monograph has been produced by the gallery for both Threads and More threads exhibitions.



While she trained as a painter, Kettle has been lauded by her contemporaries for "her use of a craft medium, consistently and on an unparalleled scale." With curator Sara Roberts stating "The scale of her work belies their component parts: individual tiny stitches, which combine to form great swathes of colour, painterly backgrounds incorporating rich hues and metallic sheen."



Kettle's important creative success and unique practice, the gallery has produced a new publication Alice Kettle, Threads & More Threads. It features critical writing by 12 contributors, with observations and comments on her work, approach and ideas.