Anne Mailey

 

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I embroider on the inner seam of clothing or bed sheets belonging to myself and close friends, creating sacred objects to be used in everyday life. Investigating the contrasts of art within a private and personal context compared to a public and institutional arena is an underlying theme influenced by eight years spent working in museums. My study of Reiki, a holistic practice involving hand placements on the body, has deepened my impulse to facilitate physical contact with artwork. When exhibited, the objects become artifactual, but many continue to live and evolve after they have been displayed. The majority of my materials come from my own personal clothing, or I inherited them from my Great Grandma Lillie, who worked as a seamstress in Nebraska. 

 

Eclipse at White Pines documents my experience viewing the solar eclipse while on residency at Byrdcliffe Art Colony in August 2017. I wore the shirt and sat in front of the historic home, White Pines, during the event. The fabric pieces represent my memory of the home’s floor plan. 

 

Anne Mailey is an embroidery artist based in Philadelphia. Her fabric works integrate social practice and performance through utilitarian use. Reiki, professional museum experience, and her Great-Grandmother’s seamstress supplies inform Anne’s practice. In 2018 Anne participated in the apprenticeship program at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia. She has been a resident artist at the Vermont Studio Center, the Wassaic Project, Osage Arts Community, Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, the Sober and Lonely Institute, Paul ArtSpace and the North Mountain Residency, where she now serves as a board member and secretary. Anne graduated from Hunter College in 2013 with a Bachelors in Painting.