Textiles and dyes, naturally, feature with Forcella.

Summary: Nowadays, when fabrics and the dyes that color them are likely to have been concocted in a lab somewhere, nonsynthetics can acquire the quality of art.

BEIRUT: Nowadays, when fabrics and the dyes that color them are likely to have been concocted in a lab somewhere, nonsynthetics can acquire the quality of art.

That appears to have been a premise behind "Tintes Naturales a Pinceladas" (From Natural Dyes to Brush Strokes), a recent exhibition of work by Maddalena Forcella at Gemmayzeh's 392Rmeil393 Gallery. The Mexican artist and textile designer works mainly with natural dyes and materials. Her practice is labor-intensive -- consisting of soaking the materials in a bath of dye, allowing them to soak the color into the textiles.

The gallery's three halls are hung with 29 canvases and four tapestries, all made from natural fabrics and dyes, all arrayed into abstract forms.

The source of her hues ranges from the cochineal insect which creates deep scarlet and crimson tones, the azure of Mayan pigments extracted from the flowers and leaves of the indigo plant, and deep yellows derived from the marigold flower.

In addition there are coral pink and fire-red pigments extracted from brazil wood, vibrant violet and black extracted from logwood, yellow hues extracted from the pericon plant native to Mexico, orange and brown extracts from fustete (aka smoke bush -- a species of flowering plant from the Anacardiaceae family), earthy yellow tones created from pomegranate peel, and nutshell to achieve grey tones.

In the fabrics' distinct textures and contrasting tones, visitors can see an asymmetrical depiction of different shapes and colors from nature. Without representing recognizable scenes or objects, the works still seem to convey the reality of nature as we see it -- wild, colorful, flourishing.

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