Details

First Name

Denise
Last Name

Zygadlo
Username

denisezygadlo
Website

http://www.denisezygadlo.co.uk
Region

Dumfries & Galloway
Disciplines

Painting, Printmaking, Performance
Themes

Figurative, Portraits, Identity, Narratives

Statement

Statement

Having a dressing-up box as a young child, I have always treasured garments gathered along the way. I trained as a textile designer, but it is only more recently that I realised the importance fabric has played throughout my life and the emotional connections we all have with cloth – from the moment we are first wrapped or swaddled to our last windings on our final journey. So cloth is usually a focus for my work, whether through small intimate drawings or large detailed drawings exploring body shape and pattern.

My interest in the relationship between cloth and the human body developed through the use of photocopied images to form collages, using my own body and then incorporating classical sculpture. Transfer printing allowed me to make a series of work on silk and canvas.

As most of this work is in black and white, it has been a joy to start using colour with small paper-cut collage.

Over the past eight years I have collected people’s memories associated with cloth as inspiration for my work.

http://www.arushagallery.com/viewingrooms       http://www.denisezygadlo.co.uk

Biography

Biography

I have lived in Dumfries since 1980, moving from London to start a cabinet making business with my husband and bring up our 4 children.

After studying printed textiles at Winchester Art School I worked in several design studios in London. Rural Scotland presented a new set of challenges; juggling childminding with small community arts projects and teaching drawing.

So in 2000 I was delighted to be introduced to the SSA, becoming a professional member in 2003 and showing work regularly in the RSA.

Since 2009 I have taken part in performance art with http://www.oceanallover.co.ukand The Secret Ministry, whilst incorporating a performance element in some of my own work. My solo exhibition Wrap in Gracefield, Dumfries incorporated a collaboration with a filmmaker and projected video footage onto life sized wrapped bodies printed on silk chiffon. A collaborative performance in the gallery opened the show with 3 performers and a string quartet to music composed for this purpose.

In 2016 I took part in The Amorist at Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh and had a small show there, Sable Charm and Dumb Enchantment in 2018   https://www.arushagallery.com.  My online exhibition, Homage to Kept Cloth, 2020 can be seen in the Viewing Rooms of their website.