Japanese Inspirations: Frank Connet and Jiro Yonezawa
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Connet says his grandmother–“an incredible quilter” who saved fabric scraps for decades before using them–has been an important influence. His works consist of pieces of dyed wool stitched to a linen backing and hung. Rectangular shapes are usually blue, black, or some other dark shade while curved shapes a bit like seedpods, feathers, or leaves are filled with curvy lines of red or orange resembling the contours of the brain’s surface. Solid colors are often interrupted by irregular lighter areas; the irregularly arranged rectangles recall patchwork quilts.
Key to the beauty of Connet’s work is the extraordinary suppleness of his colors. Defying the anticraft bias of much conceptual art and eschewing the assertive pure reds and blues of geometrical abstraction, Connet adopts a seemingly limited palette whose colors nevertheless have a peculiar resonance and depth. Even in areas that at first appear solid, the blacks include blue, and the reds vibrate into orange. With such inner complexity, “solid” colors seem living worlds.
