Craft Awards

Hannah Epstein
Helen Frances Gregor Award

Hannah Epstein (b.1985) is an artist working in textile and digital media (AKA Fyberspace). She holds an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University (2017) and a B.A in Folklore & Religious Studies from Memorial University (2009). Epstein grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a cold, grey peninsula where she sought refuge indoors watching television. The sharp contrast between the saturated, colorful images on TV and the monotony of her surroundings had a big impact on the artist, and when later, she studied folklore at Memorial University in Newfoundland, she realized that TV had provided her with a visual vocabulary of cartoon and pop culture images that resonate with the folkloric tradition.

As a folklorist turned artist, Epstein is devoted to reimagining the iconography of popular culture, highlighting the cultural negotiation between bottom-up (folk-to-commodity) and top-down (institution-to-mashup) storytelling. The form of which has been a re- adoption of the traditional east coast craft of rug hooking for contemporary contexts and the use of video game technology and imagery to develop a world of characters that playfully reflects our own. Epstein’s monsters, whether crazy cats, spooky hybrid animals, or a wild-eyed, shaved-headed Brittney Spears, remind us that monsters have long been lurking in the corners of our imagination and media landscape.
Her work has been shown at The Hammer Museum, The Art Gallery of Ontario, The Textile Museum of Canada, The Long Beach Museum of Art, The San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and The Rooms in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She is currently represented by Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles.

https://www.han.ski  

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Like a dragon unfurled its wings
Rug hooked wool, Acrylic, Polyester and Burlap; 287cm x 304.8cm; 2019

The Hybrid Kid
Rug hooked acrylic, Cotton, Polyester and Burlap; 167.6cm x 119.4cm, 2017

Superchill (DYWAFTTOS?) Episode 1
Rug hooked wool, Acrylic, Polyester and Burlap; 208.3cm x 111.8cm; 2017

Crunch
Rug hooked wool, Acrylic, Polyester and Burlap; 193cm x 129.5cm; 2018

Don't Deal With The Devil
Rug hooked wool, Acrylic, Polyester and Burlap; 104.1cm x 106.7cm; 2019

Curtis
Rug hooked wool, Acrylic and Burlap; 48.3cm x 88.9cm; 2019

Atlas Lugged
Rug hooked wool, Acrylic, Polyester and Burlap; 127cm x 78.7cm; 2019

Eye Dazzler
Wool, Polyester, Burlap and Video screens with circuit board players; 67.3cm x 74.9cm; 2019

Ya ZAZA
Rug hooked wool, Acrylic, Polyester and Burlap; 170.2cm x 114.3cm; 2018

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Formerly the Ontario Crafts Council, Craft Ontario is a not-for-profit service organization that works to have craft recognized as a valuable part of life. We promote and celebrate professional craft through providing member opportunities, and advocate for craft practice by educating and empowering diverse audiences.