Ilze Aviks

Ilze Aviks uses her in-depth knowledge of textile materials to add the dimensions of both color and texture to her floral cyanotypes.
From: Durango, Colorado, USA.
Shows: Cyanotypes.

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Ilze Aviks maintains a studio in Durango, Colorado. She has a BFA in Art History and Painting and an MFA in Fibers. For over three decades, Ilze Aviks has taught textile design as a Visiting Artist at art schools and universities in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Ilze Aviks is most enchanted by photographic processes on natural papers, such as washi. Cyanotype on fabric, especially linen, silk organza, and wool felt, is poetically tactile. These fibrous substrates supply warmth and depth to the imagery.

Working with cyanotype processes and photo negatives is a unique way to create a narrative:

photographic imagery supplies a heightened, recognizable, “reality”
overlapping negatives provide a dream-like space beyond the “reality”
layering numerous negatives in one piece suggests fleeting memory–nothing is in one place at one time

Ilze Aviks is inspired by early Victorian photography, which displays a surfeit of detail and almost magical visual hyper-reality. Early photography often retells romantic legends and classical themes.

Ilze Aviks compares her narratives to a child’s story or fairy tale: