Tory Folliard Gallery artist Mary Bero's work has recently been published in a book titled Artistry in Fiber, Vol. 1: Wall Art.

Mary Bero's work is in the nationally traveling exhibition INNOVATORS & LEGENDS: Generations in Textiles and Fibers. Organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art,  Innovators and Legends explores the explosion of fiber as a fine arts movement during the latter half of the 20th century with over 75 works by 50 artists. The exhibition tells the story of the ongoing transformation of fiber arts from the functional and decorative to the innovative and experimental, and the creative potential of the wide array of diverse materials and techniques being used today. Contemporary themes such as narrative, identity, ecology, recycling, and political thought are explored, while continuing to draw upon the beauty and visual richness achieved through color, pattern, texture, and form.

The idea for the exhibition was conceived by Geary Jones, a Grand Rapids, Michigan based artist and teacher and has traveled to the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn, New York, the Art Museum at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky and the University Art Museum of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.  Currently at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, IA, Bero's work was featured on for the building's banner.

Mary Bero, a self-taught artist, is interested in combining multiple techniques to create her intricate work.  “Stuffed Head, Breathing Space” made of silk, cotton, and polyfil is both painterly and sculptural.  Like many of her works, this piece features an iconic face:  the eyes stare out at the viewer and the face reflects her influence of masks in primitive art.  A relatively large work for Bero, the image measures 8.5 x 5.25 inches.  The face is covered in clouds and the “hair” looks like a rainbow of thread.  Bero is constantly challenging herself to start a work in a new way, calling this her “neo-vision.”  Always fresh, and never boring, close examination of the work of Mary Bero reveals her patience through countless tiny stitches in a dynamic arrangement.