craftzine.com/05/rosenfeld

D _T HEAST^I GCNOSN N E C T

CRAFTER

BY HILLIE WURTMAN

Galya Rosenfeld’s interlocking work communicates more than just clothing and jewelry.

Galya Rosenfeld’s multimedia works defy the boundaries of art, fashion, design, and craft. “Usually craft and art are separated, but I never really considered that separation,” Rosenfeld says. “A painting could be very precise, but at the same time could be a very flexible process, which is what design is for me. It’s hard to understand where art ends and design begins.”

Each of Rosenfeld’s unique, handmade pieces appears to have an inner logic that is highly mathematical. Many of her works evoke the ancient, calculated craft of weaving. Her pieces are at once gentle and soft, yet playful and scientific.

In one of her latest series, Rosenfeld uses small pieces of cardboard as one of her media. All around her studio, there are square pieces of recycled cardboard paper woven together, which, as in Rosenfeld’s other modular designs, form an object that can be taken apart and reassembled. In many ways it’s similar to puzzle pieces, Legos, or computer pixels.

Born to Israeli parents, Rosenfeld currently resides in both the United States and Israel. In breaking the boundaries between functional design and creativity, Rosenfeld makes a statement about her places of residence. Her piece Military Lace is a striking necklace that looks like woven identity disc or dog tag chains. Using stainless steel ball chain material, she shows that jewelry is not only a sign of status or an embodiment of aesthetics, but can also be critical of the world around us. According

to Rosenfeld, the necklace “symbolizes so much in Israeli culture.”

Rosenfeld is working on another piece of jewelry made out of simple earring hooks she soldered together as a physical representation of interconnectedness.

“It’s a perfect horizon line for me,” says Rosenfeld. “It’s plain silver that can be made into tons of stuff. To me, its particular shape is beautiful. It inspires me.”

For the 2005 “GlamMore” exhibit at the Playspace Gallery in San Francisco, Rosenfeld displayed a modular coat of animal skin patterns created from die-cut components of ultrasuede and rubber.

The modules were interwoven to create a stunning checkered textile that can form anything from bags to dresses, slippers to scarves, all depending on how the pieces are fit together. While the skins that the coat emulates can be a sign of status, they also represent the concept of survival. The design asks viewers to re-evaluate their idea of glamour.

Rosenfeld’s modular coat, like many of her other designs, conveys her unique process of creation, which combines craft and design, culture and geography, technology and high concept. For Rosenfeld, the creative process is about communication. Each material speaks. Through her designs she explores the way clothing helps people communicate. ×

 

Hillie Wurtman lives in Israel and studies bibliotherapy. She is a writer, yoga instructor, artist, and educator.