This article was originally published in February of 2020.
Ebony G. Patterson’s work exudes a bright creativity and cultural nuance; when one of her pieces, an artist book, was brought to The Center for a custom display solution, we knew we had a colorful adventure ahead of us.
The artist book brought to The Center.
The work brought to The Center was comprised of 16 panels, dyed both directly and with sublimation printed on fabrics, bound as an artist book, titled “… for those who come to bear witness…” and part of an edition of 12. Each of the fabric panels included stitches at the spine edge to create a channel for the ribbon on the spine edge to act as binding. The spine ribbons aren’t secured to the panels, so they can be pulled from the panels and bent and pivoted away from the rest of the book – picture a loosely bound sketchbook with thick pages, held together with string.
Closer detailing of the ribbon.
Our book conservator had their work cut out for them, as any introduction of new materials that would reinforce the spine ran the risk of creating friction along the threads that secured the panels to the ribbons. The friction could eventually damage the threads. Another option was tying the ribbons tighter to create more security, but that would have disrupted Patterson’s original artist intent. The solution? Creating a dropspine box to sit the pages in, to provide support for the book without interfering with the original design.
The dropspine box with the work inside.
Working closely with the client who owns the piece, the box was fabricated with several different colors on the cover to reiterate the colors that Patterson had used in the book, creating a striped effect. The colors included a “flare red,” “sky blue,” “eggplant,” “rain forest,” and a special bright yellow that matched a color Patterson used in the piece. A neutral color was chosen for inside of the box. The stripes had to be vertical and in three different sizes, but no stripe could be larger than two inches.
The design, specifically chosen by the client to complement the work.
To retain provenance, Patterson’s signature label was attached to the piece as well. Finally, a label was created in a sans serif font featuring the title of the book with Patterson’s name below it.
The box, featuring the label our conservators made.
At The Center, we truly enjoy being able to draw inspiration from artists’ work and to collaborate with clients’ ideas to find the perfect display solution, keeping pieces archivally housed for years to come.
Showcasing the provenance of the piece.
Patterson (b. 1981 in Kingston, Jamaica) received her BFA from Edna Manley College, Kingston, Jamaica (2004) and MFA from Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University, St. Louis, MO (2006). Patterson has had solo exhibitions and projects at many US institutions including Baltimore Museum of Art, MD (2019); The Studio Museum in Harlem, NY (2016); Atlanta Center for Contemporary Art, GA 2016); and SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, GA (2016). Dead Treez, Patterson’s first large-scale institutional solo show, originated at the Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI (2015) and traveled to Museum of Art and Design, NY (2015); Boston University Art Galleries, MA (2016); and UB Art Galleries, University at Buffalo, NY (2017).
Patterson’s was included in Open Spaces Kansas City (2018), the 32nd São Paulo Bienal: Live Uncertainty (2016); the 12th Havana Biennial: Between the Idea and the Experience, Cuba (2015); Prospect.3: Notes for Now, New Orleans (2014), and the Jamaica Biennial 2014, National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston. She was an Artist-in-Residence at the Rauschenberg Foundation, Captiva Island, FL (2017) and served on the Artistic Director’s Council for Prospect.4, New Orleans (2017). Patterson has received numerous awards, including the Stone and DeGuire Art Award, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University, St. Louis (2018); United States Artists Award (2018); Tiffany Foundation Grant (2017); Joan Mitchell Foundation Art Grant (2015); and the Andy Warhol Foundation Grant, in conjunction with Small Axe (2012).
Additionally, Patterson’s work is included in a number of public collections, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA; the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada; The Studio Museum in Harlem, NY; Museum of Arts and Design, NY; Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, NC; Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; and the National Gallery of Jamaica, Kingston. Her first major survey exhibition …while the dew is still on the roses… opened at Pérez Art Museum Miami in 2018; then toured to Speed Art Museum, Louisville in 2019; and will subsequently travel to the Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, NC in 2020. Upcoming solo exhibitions include Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO (2020); New Orleans Museum of Art, LA (2021); and the Liverpool Biennial, UK (2020). Patterson is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago.
