june 6th, first friday reception from 5 - 7 pm  

in retrospect, includes work from the last decade of Melissa Maddonni Haims life. Quite arguably, the most informative, the most tragic and the most exhilarating years so far: from becoming a mother, to loosing one, from leaving New York City and returning “home” after nearly 20 years and finally, moving slowly but ultimately away from painting and printmaking into fibers full time. I am excited to show some of my largest installations in this exhibition, including Heaven, which is installed on the second floor of the gallery. This soft sculpture, which took nearly 2 years to knit and crochet, was created in honor of my mother who died in January 2008. Additionally, Offering was completed in 2013, one year after the heartbreaking death of my best friend of 26 years. This soft sculpture is made up of hundreds of crocheted stones to build a memorial celebrating her life.

Also included will be new work in the Purge series, vintage and heirloom fabrics embroidered with phrases we might want to keep to ourselves; reminiscent of the motivational posters from the 1990’s that say things like SUCSESS and TEAMWORK, these wall hung works are more like the anti inspirational messaging for the new millennium. The text is complimented by hyperbolic crochet, which cascades from the base of the work down towards the floor.