Jane Sartorelli

1924, Toronto, Ontario, Canada–2006 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

The 1970s saw the proliferation of feminist art practices—works that sought to recuperate “feminine” techniques, subjects, and bodies in order to challenge patriarchy.

It is unlikely Jane Sartorelli travelled to see Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party when it was launched in Brooklyn in 1974, however, Cerridwen shares much of its boldness, strength, and abstracted feminine forms. Sartorelli began working with textiles in the mid-1960s combining techniques to create her own idiosyncratic style of low-relief tapestry. Her work was shown and collected extensively in Edmonton allowing Sartorelli to support her five children as a single mother. Her subjects were most often figurative although she experimented with abstraction. Cerridwen is the name of an ancient Welsh goddess associated with rebirth and inspiration.