Art Beat: "Yarn/Rope/String" at New Bedford Art Museum

As visitors enter the New Bedford Art Museum, they are welcomed by a larger-than-life portrait of a woman towering above. She is magnificently stylish in colorful splendor, donned in a crimson turtleneck, a flamboyant sweater of purple, black, and teal, and a pair of luminous yellow pants. Her elbow resting against her hip, she exudes confidence.

The portrait is titled "Br00klyn Betty" (the zeroes in lieu of o's is intentional). But it is not a painting, at least not in the way that one generally considers the medium. Artist Kandy Lopez has utilized yarn, spray paint and a gray plastic "canvas" to produce a remarkable image that serves as a perfect introduction to "Yarn/Rope/String," an exhibition juried by the magazine Fiber Art Now.

There is no need to revisit the tired debate which pits fine art against craft. The quality of strikingly diverse and intelligent work in this exhibition easily transcends that clunky, unwarranted discussion.

That said, Denise Kounat's "Pagoda" is but one of very few objects in the show which is utilitarian. Shimmering in pink, lavender and gold, the hand-dyed silk is either scarf or shawl, but suspended on the wall, it resonates simply as a glorious object.

Similarly, Erika Diamond's wispy, delicate and airy "Spider Vest," made with materials that include gold gimp and Kevlar threads, borders on the edge of the ethereal.

On the other end of the spectrum from wispy is "Left Hanging" by Jerold Ehrlich, constructed of foraged and welded rebar. The textured metal bars are reimagined and twisted to appear as coiled rope dangling from two large hooks, projecting from the wall, and brings into question the definition of fiber itself.

"Encoded" by Christine Miller, a metallic gold faux vessel (wire warp, wire weft, fiber weft and bead) studded with alien letterforms, demands to be understood as a quasi-holy relic of sorts.

In an artist statement, Miller noted of it, "There is a mystery to information that is undecipherable…we are drawn to ancient artifacts that feel solid with unmoving truth." Indiana Jones, take heed.

There are echoes of the late artist Mike Kelley (d. 2006) in "Distorts," a work displayed by Dale Roberts. Like Kelley, a found object and assemblage artist who often used stuffed animals and other soft toys in parody of abstract expressionism, Roberts suspends clusters of objects from the ceiling.

Hanging from gossamer lines are Roberts found objects over which he has crocheted sleeves of sorts in which they rest. Half the fun is trying to figure out what is under the crochet work…is that an egg beater? A high heel shoe? A sex toy?

Sarah Haskell displays "Hold Me Like a Mother," consisting of groupings of egg-shaped stones found on the beaches of Maine and situated on three short pedestals. The stones have been half-covered in dyed linen, like little sweaters, and there is something soothing and comforting about it all.

A highlight of the exhibition is "Lorenzo's Primo," a wonderfully rendered work of string, wood and beeswax by Robin Bernstein. At first glance, the casual viewer might mistake it, with its two old school portraits and the color scheme of the Italian flag, as a clever reproduction of a pasta sauce label.

But it is not trite pop art. It is a heartfelt tribute to Lorenzo Perrone, an Italian forced laborer, who saved the life of Primo Levi in Auschwitz, by bringing him a piece of bread and soup every day for five months, putting himself at great risk. Levi would go on to write "If This Is a Man," about his experience in the concentration camp in 1947.

Other particularly notable works include "Profusion" by Debra Disman, "Embrace" by Meredith Strauss, and "Skirting the Issue" by Nolan Wright.

"Yarn/Rope/String: Fiber Art Now Juried Exhibition" is on display at the New Bedford Art Museum, 608 Pleasant St., New Bedford until March 12.