CONSTANCE OLD

Artist Statement
Connecticut-based artist, Constance Old captures the spirit of the 21st century by taking advantage of the excesses of the consumer economy. Old uses the traditional craft of rug hooking to make three dimensional wall pieces out of found color.  In particular, obvious symbols of our consumer economy like sales receipts and assorted recycled plastic (shopping bags, newspaper delivery bags, plastic ribbon, acrylic yarn, surveyor’s tape, Styrofoam thread) are each included in her works of art. This work is born out of any consumer detritus that can be rendered into a strand, into any usable grid (nylon mesh, a disassembled J Crew skirt, linen, monks cloth). Combining the traditional craft technique of rug hooking with contemporary materials, her work is both timeless and an index of our time.  Although serious in nature, one can't help but notice a subtle wink of the eye and sense of humor when looking at the fine work of Constance Old.  

Constance states, “I am excited to continue experimenting with different contemporary materials and matrices to discover which materials I am able to hook and which existing grids I am able to use as substrates. We live in a time in which humans have created an over abundance of innovative and pliable fibers--many of which end up discarded. It thrills me to collect and reuse these cast-offs to make new art from the very old, very American, craft technique of rug hooking."

Biography
Old is a most unconventional textile artist, a printmaker, and an avid collector whose background is impressive. She is a Yale University alumna with an M.F.A. degree in graphic design. Her B.A. was earned at Princeton University where she studied Comparative Literature. Her strong academic background, an in-depth study of design and typography, art history and literature, are evident in her work.

• WCA-CT, Why Not? Exhibition, Housatonic Museum of Art, First Prize
• Pushing the Limits: New Concepts in Rughooking, Surface Design Association Honorable Mention
• Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT, Honorable Mention for Blue Print Exhibit
• Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, Purchase Award 25th National Print Exhibition
• Art Show Bedford, Bedford, NY, Honorable Mention

• Yale University
• Princeton University

• Finalist, Contemporary Rughooking (2011), Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, ME
• Garbage Never Looked So Good, Garbage Museum, Stratford, CT
• Text/Textile, fiber artists: philadelphia #6, DaVinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
• New Members Show, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
• Harvest Gold Gallery, Center Lovell, ME
• Some Things Looming Gallery, Reading, PA