The first time I saw these beautiful art pieces by Lissa Hunter my heart began to race because I knew I was looking at something extraordinary.
Nancy's Choice
Lissa Hunter's trademark is the small hand coiled baskets mounted in wall boxes. The baskets are covered with paper and these become the "canvas" upon which she paints, draws and adorns.
The Gathering by Lissa Hunter
"Saying that Lissa Hunter makes baskets is a bit like saying that Picasso doodled. She does. He did. But in both cases the work transcends those simple categories.Hunter's baskets are about life, loss, love and death. " - Christine Temin, New England Home, May/June 2007
Fade to black
"First she's a basket maker. First and foremost, and still. First she makes coiled baskets, precise, neat, colorful. Then she covers the exteriors, skins them in paper, paint and texture.
And her point is that when you approach them, they are--what? Ceramic? You can't tell . Adorned with leather, leaves and beads. But when you look inside, there are fiber coils. Discovery, magic. To perform this magic you have to pick them up, handle them. That's what the paper and paint were there to protect and to allow in the first place.
Now the baskets are set in little niches, precisely their size, made for them. The niches are cut into slabs made for walls. To be seen. Hands off, the discovery inside no longer possible, no longer permitted.
So the secret of the baskets has been buried? Is this a cenotaph? Are these baskets votive offerings? Do they hold invisible remains? Are they empty?" -- John Edwards , from the catalogue for Histories.
These are the same thoughts going through my mind whilst looking at them.
If the pieces appeal to you, you're in for a treat at Lissa's website here. There are stories behind some of the works which provide fascinating reading.
Late bloomer
Forgetting
More than you know
Quatro
Journeys
