ARTIST/CURATOR STATEMENT:

I am a mixed media artist who primarily uses textiles in my work.  Though contemporary in every sense, the work I do references traditional “women’s work,” slowly built up, mostly by hand, with a needle, using gentle materials – fabrics, thread, floss – in addition to more modern edgier ones such as Tyvek, metals and found objects. My work is detailed, often with reflective surfaces and tiny, rich elements, and does not always neatly fit typical categories but includes collage and heavily worked or embroidered surfaces as well as art quilts and weaving.   I choose from myriad techniques, whatever works to express my vision.

 

I love the process of making, but my work is always idea driven.  I work in series so that I can pursue themes of importance to me.  The 15,000-55,000 year-old cave paintings of northern Spain, southern France and Australia are the subject of one such series.  Pomegranates, which represent fecundity and come in the most amazing colors, create an additional one.  A series of about industrial detritus is made of fabrics, rusty metal and random “junk” which sparkles and intrigues.  Early human mark-making is an ever-present theme.  My series Fierce Winds explores the excitement and terror of searing winds which have been exacerbated by sudden climate change.  And Confluence, a show I curated and sent to six venues over three years, considers aspects of water: its beauty, scarcity and impact. My work in Confluence deals with the Pacific Gyre and was comprised of household plastics and other discards.

 

In 2019, I completed a 3-part series called Incarceration. It explores issues of imprisonment and is based in part on a visit to Alcatraz and study of a WWII POW camp in Hereford, TX, which led to the artistic development of Arturo Burri.  There are 9 quilts, 17 “cells” on stretcher bars, and a dozen 6” square embroideries called the Keys.  A new collaboration (Bent Needle Collective) is in the works as is a new series examining the relationship between degradation and hope. 

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Subsequently, I made a series of 17 figures which range in height from 1' - 7'.  Wounded Sentinels are forest guardians doing their best to protect us from the ravages of climate change and the devastating fires that it has lead to.   During the pandemic I created 2 new series.   The first was of small, colorful but quite small embroideries called MINIMS.   The second was Pendules.  These are big, bold multi-part pieces in 3D.  They are wall-hung but can be viewed from various angles and their shadows are an essential aspect of the work.

  

My curatorial approach is to collect the very best work on a clear theme and present a “ready to hang” exhibition.  These exhibits are designed to meet the stated mission of the exhibiting venue and I work closely with the exhibition department.  I have done a great deal of publicity and bring that to the shows I curate.   I have been the co-chair of PR for the Art Cloth Network for well over a decade.

 

The objective of my artwork is to awaken the mind of the viewer by means of visual seduction.

 

BACKGROUND/EDUCATION:

1968    B.A.         Costume Design, University of Hawaii

1973    M.A.        Deaf Education, California State University, Northridge

1989    M.A.        Linguistics, California State University, Long Beach

1972-1976          Taught the Deaf for Los Angeles County Special Education

1977-2006          Taught the Deaf and ESL at El Camino College, Torrance, CA

1965-85               Designed and built costumes for Shakespeare Festivals, 

                             university and community theatres

1980-1984          Producer and Artistic Director of Music in Motion, a sign  

                             language theatre troupe which performed extensively  

                             throughout California

2001-2006          Established and was president of Yellow Fox Foundation,

                             which made grants internationally to artists and humanitarians.

2006-present      Full-time studio artist, exhibit curator and art teacher

 

EXHIBITIONS CURATED BY THE ARTIST:

Into the 3rd Dimension (Solo), Alpert Jewish Community Center, Long Beach, CA 2023

Incarceration (Solo), Alpert Jewish Community Center, Long Beach, CA 2020

Bent Needle Collective, Out of Darkness, Pacific NW Quilt and Fiber Art Museum, WA 2019

Chroma (Solo), permanent installation School on Wheels HQ, Los Angeles, CA 2018

Abstraction (Solo), Mission Viejo Civic Center, Mission Viejo, CA, 2018

Elemental (Solo), Branch Gallery, Inglewood, CA 2017

From the Streets to the Skies (Quilts on the Wall), Branch Gallery, Inglewood, CA 2017

Deborah Weir (Solo), Hagafen Winery, Napa, CA 2016-17

Deborah Weir (Solo), Alpert Jewish Community Center, Long Beach, CA 2016

Confluence, Palos Verdes Art Center, CA, 2013; International Textile Art, Paterson, NJ 2013; Temporary Contemporary Gallery, Sacramento, CA 2014; Savoir Faire, Redondo Beach, CA 2015; New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, MA, 2016

Fiber Forward, PV Art Center, Palos Verdes, CA 2013

Quilts on the Wall at the Hangar, Santa Monica, CA 2012

Deborah Weir (Solo), Hangar Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, 2011

Three Perspectives, Performing Arts Center, Redondo Beach, CA, 2010

Deborah Weir: Textiles, (Solo), C1D Gallery, Long Beach, CA, 2008 

Deborah Weir: A Career (Solo), STRS Gallery, Sacramento, CA, 2007

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SELECTED JURIED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2022

             FiberArts Now Excellence in Quilts

             Australia Wide 8 (OzQuilt Network) touring through 2024

             Threads of Inspiration (SAQA regional) 

             Advocacy Project Collaboration with Bangladeshi embroiderers

             Visions Museum of Textile Art 2022

             Forever Changed (SAQA Regional)

             Open Space (ACN exhibit) Austin Airport, TX

2021

             Textile Arts LA online exhibit https://www.instagram.com/p/CMHuBiuFTNX

             Visions Members online   https://visionsartmuseum.org/member-challenge-exhibition/

             The Language of Fiber Art, Fiber Artists of San Antonio, TX

              Sister Artists Collaboration with Ghanaian embroiderers, Textile Museum, Washington  DC

2020

         Southern California Contemporary Quilts, Oceanside, CA

         Quilt Visions 2020

         No Limits, SAQA's first online gallery

         Sister Artists Collaboration with Mali embroiderers, Textile Museum, Washington DC

         Keeping the Faith, Paso Robles, CA

         Full Circle, Art Cloth Network through 2021

2019

        Shifting Tides: Convergence in Cloth, SAQA, touring all 7 Pacific-adjacent states

        South African Annual Quilt Festival, Fourways, Santon, South Africa

        Elements, Marin Artists Gallery, San Rafael, CA

        Australia Wide Six, touring Australia

        The Space Between, Art Cloth Network through 2021

2018

        Smolder, Material View, Miami International Airport, Miami, FL

2017

        ArtQuilt Australia 2017, Tasmania, AU         

        Strings Attached, Coastline College, Newport Beach, CA

        Evolutions, Rocky Mt. Quilt Museum, Golden, CO

        Unbound, Art Cloth Network through 2020

2016

        Gyre#11, Water is Life, UNHQ Geneva, Kean U. Human Rights Gallery, through-2019

2015

        International FiberArts VII, Sebastopol, CA, through 2016

        National Fiber Directions, Wichita, KS, 2015, 2013, 2009

        Climate Crisis: Solutions, Water Street Studios, Batavia, Il

        Cosmos, Imagining the Universe, AnnMarie Arts Center, Dowell, MD

        Textiel Festival, Leiden, The Netherlands

2014

        Australia Wide 4, touring throughout Australia, through 2016                                                                                                        

        Opening Exhibit, San Fernando Valley Arts Alliance

        Art Quilts Celebrating 25 Years QSDS, Ross Art Museum, Columbus, OH

        Infinity Art Gallery Fiber Arts (online)

        Material View, Art Cloth Network through 2017

2013

        Dreams from the Old Testament, Tychman Shapiro Gallery, Minneapolis, MN

        Confluence, New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, MA; Savoir Faire, Redondo Beach, CA; TempContemporary Gallery,                               Sacramento, CA; International Textile Art, Paterson, NJ; Palos Verdes Art Center, Palos  Verdes, CA through 2016  

        ArtRageous Quilts, Chandler Center for Arts, Chandler, AZ, and 2012

        Art Quilt Australia, People, Place, Nation, Canberra, Australia through 2016               

        Interpretations, Art Cloth Network, toured US through 2016

        Page Turner, SomeThings Looming Gallery, Reading, PA

2012

        Quilt Festival, PNW Quilt and Textile Museum, La Conner, WA

        American Archeological Society Meeting, San Diego, CA

        Interpretations, Art Cloth Network through 2015

2011

        SAQA Regional, Front Porch Gallery, Carlsbad, CA

        Beyond the Line, Art Cloth Network through 2014

2010

        Innovations in Fiber Art V, Merit Award: Innovations, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA

        Korean/American Joomchi, Cheongju Craft Museum, South Korea through 2011

        Art of the Stitch, Visions Gallery, San Diego, CA

        Frontiers Where Art Meets Science, SAQA US, England, France through 2011

        Uncommon Threads, American Jewish University, Los Angeles, CA through 2012

2009

        Contemporary Quilts, The Muckenthaler, Fullerton, CA

        Eye of the Quilter, International Quilt Festival, Houston, TX

        Art Quilts Lowell, Lowell, MA

        Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, England

        Nothing New, Textile Center, Minneapolis, MN

        National Fiber Directions, Wichita, KS, 2009. 2013, 2015

        Fibrations, SAQA, toured US through 2010

        A Sense of Humor, “That’s Amore” featured in event catalog, SAQA, toured US through 2010

        All Media show at the Palos Verdes Art Center, invited docent, Palo Verdes, CA 

2008

        Shoreline Stitchers Showcase, “Best in Contemporary Embroidery” Palos Verdes, CA, 2008 

        National Small Art Quilt Works, Main Street Gallery, Groton, NY, 2008, 2009, 2010

         West Coast Wonders (International Quilt Festival, Inc.), through 2009

         A Sense of Time (Studio Art Quilt Associates), through 2009

        Countdown to Peace, Ayden, NC, 2008– End of War

        A Sense of Time, SAQA, toured US through 2010

        National Small Art Quilts, Main St. Gallery, Groton, NY, 2008, 2009, 2010

2007 (and earlier)

        Kaiser Hospital, Panorama City, CA (permanent collection), 2007

        Handweavers’ Guild of America’s Convergence, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2008

        PIQF, Santa Clara, CA, 1997, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2015 

        Quilts on the Wall touring exhibits, 2003-2019

       

RECOGNITION in Print and Online:

            2021    Textile FibreForum Sept. ’21 Feature Article

            2021    Into the Third Dimension: 75 minute Zoom presentation (Quilts on the Wall; SAQA; Open Invitation)

            2021    Art Quilting Studio (Winter)  feature article   

            2020    Fibre Arts Australia feature https://www.flipsnack.com/fibreartsnewsletter/fibre-arts-australia-x9qdseapma.html 

            2020    Create Whimsy feature https://createwhimsy.com/projects/spotlight-deborah-weir-fiber-artist/ 

            2019    Cover of the Art Cloth Network catalog for Unbound

            2019    Art Quilting Studio (Summer) feature article   

            2019    https://theweavingworkshop.com/2019/01/31/deborah-weir-awakening-the-mind/

            2018    DownUnderTextiles (Australia) article

            2015    Consultant on The Banquet of Donny and Ari, scenes from the opera, by poet Naomi Guttman.  Brick Books Press.

               

REPRESENTED by  Kathy's Gallery   4433 Sepulveda Bl. Torrance, CA 90505    (1)310 792-4838

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HONORS AND INVITATIONS

 

TEACHES a wide variety of art techniques at FiberFly Studios in the Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA.

 

AFFILIATIONS:

Art Cloth Network, 2010-present (publicity co-chair)

Bent Needle Collective

OzQuilt Network Australia 2011- present

Quilts on the Wall, 2002-present

San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles 2011-present

Studio Art Quilt Associates, 2002-present 

Surface Design Association, 2002-present (So.CA and HI regional rep, 2010)

Textile Arts Los Angeles 2017-present

Visions Museum of Textile Art, 2006-present