FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rebecca Eaton, Gallery Manager, THE MISSION
(312) 243-1200
rebecca@themissionprojects.com



CHICAGO, Illinois - THE MISSION is pleased to present PARALLELS // A Collaboration with ACRE Residency, a two-part exhibition of new work by ACRE (Artists’ Cooperative Residency and Exhibitions) summer residents Joshua Albers, Celeste Cooning, Yhelena Hall and Heather MacKenzie.


PARALLELS // Part 1: Celeste Cooning + Heather MacKenzie

PARALLELS // Part 1 presents recent work by Celeste Cooning and Heather MacKenzie. Sourcing inspiration from textiles, architecture, mathematics, and the natural world, Cooning’s body of work, The Power of Three, features draped, hand-cut geometric cutouts which reference the Japanese hemp leaf pattern, Asanoha. Her dynamic, triad configuration explores astronomy, age-old methods of maritime navigation, and the exponential growth of the universe. MacKenzie’s installation, FATHOM, is an investigation of petroleum-derived fibers. Employing notions of measurement and length, she unravels discarded acrylic sweaters and winds the reclaimed fibers into unwieldy, hand-rolled balls that correspond to the depths of deep-sea oil wells.


CELESTE COONING lives and works in Seattle, WA. She received her BFA in painting, drawing, and art history at Indiana University, Bloomington and her MFA at the University of Washington. An interest in pattern and ornament led Cooning to explore cut paper, a medium that facilitates a particular responsiveness to material, shape, light, and space. The stylized nature and oversized scale of her decorative motifs allow for varied interpretation, with intent to conjure sensations of wonder.

HEATHER MACKENZIE lives and works in Chicago, IL. She graduated with honors from Brown University and is pursuing an MFA in Fiber and Material Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. MacKenzie’s work explores tradition, anachronism, and nostalgia. She investigates systems — navigational, bodily, mechanical, political, industrial, and geologic — to confront ideas of abundance, logic, and waste. Her works subvert themes of femininity and domesticity associated with textile and stitch and challenge the perception of conventional craft materials.

Celeste Cooning

Heather Mackenzie