Everything Nac

“Understanding Coincidence in the Multiverse,” a solo exhibition by Stephen F. Austin State University art faculty member Candace Hicks, will show Jan. 21 through Feb. 25 at Ivester Contemporary in Austin.

The exhibition features two of Hicks’ ongoing series: her hand embroidered compositions on canvas she calls “Notes for String Theory” as well as her multi-page hand embroidered book works titled “String Theory.” Both of these series focus on literary coincidence and Hicks’ fascination with the phenomenon of learning a new word or hearing about something in particular only to begin seeing it seemingly everywhere, or reading the same unique phrase or idea in more than one book in short succession.

A reception for the Austin exhibition is planned for 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, at Ivester Contemporary.

Hicks’ work has taken literature as its subject for many years, and writing has been central to her artistic practice. “I employ hand-embroidery in my work as a feminist statement to elevate the domestic arts,” she said. “I build facsimiles of sheets of paper on wooden panels that are the same dimensions as notebook paper. My pages confront the existential possibilities of the blank page.”

Hicks creates interactive installations and artist’s books that examine gender, voice and parallel universes through the analysis of fictional literature. Her artist’s books are in collections at Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art New York, Banbridge Museum and Spencer Museum of Art, as well as in university collections at Harvard, Yale and Stanford. For more information about the artist, visit candacehicks.com/.

Ivester Contemporary’s 1,600-square-foot gallery is located within the Canopy Creative Complex in East Austin. Ivester Contemporary represents emerging and mid-career artists living and working in Austin and Central Texas.