How Quiltmaking’s Deep Traditions Are Influencing Contemporary Art
Although the art world has only recently embraced quilting, contemporary artists engaging with the medium belong to a time-honored tradition.
Stunning stitched self-portraits
We recently reached out to four textile artists who have created self-portraits in their own unique ways, to find out about their motivations, tips and techniques.
https://www.textileartist.org/stunning-stitched-self-portraits?
Working out of her studio in Melbourne, textile artist Cat Rabbit (previously) felts a quirky troupe of characters complete with distinctive garb and accessories.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/10/cat-rabbit-felt-characters/
Fiber Works Seek to “Celebrate, Mourn, and Heal” the Experiences of Indigenous Women
A peek at Decoding Craft, an exhibition of works by Erin Lee Antonak and Sariah Park, presented as part of the ongoing Indigenous Women’s Voices Summit.
https://hyperallergic.com/594313/decoding-craft-gallery-222-indigenous-womens-voices-summit/
Textiles of the World: Lao Sinhs
Because sinhs are still used as a daily garment, hand weaving is still a relatively common skill, and many people have large looms outside of their houses. One day, I had a conversation with a weaver who showed me how her loom was set up for a particular pattern. She told me that this pattern had been passed down for generations in her family. When the style is very intricate, a loom is dedicated to a particular pattern and will be used for only that pattern for years.
https://thesewcialists.com/2020/10/23/textiles-of-the-world-lao-sinhs/
While Drenk’s latest series, titled Transmutations, is diverse and ranges from wall pieces to cavernous sculptures, each artwork explores materiality and how disparate shapes and textures combine to create forms that are new both physically and conceptually.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/10/jessica-drenk-transmutations/
The Exuberant Softness of Feliciano Centurión’s Textiles
Often dismissed during his lifetime for his emphasis on kitsch and craft, it is high time that Centurión gets his due.
https://hyperallergic.com/595813/feliciano-centurion-abrigo-americas-society/
Oversized Spiders by Mister Finch Transform Vintage Textiles into Fairytale Sculptures
Leeds-based artist Mister Finch (previously) thrifts scraps of brocades and cottons to shape into fantastical creatures that are both whimsical and slightly unnerving. His recent pieces include a series of oversized spiders that the artist photographs suspended from the ceiling or scaling his workshop wall.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/10/mister-finch-spiders/
Sprawling across paint-chipped walls and tiny alcoves, the collaged installations of artist Clare Börsch mimic overgrown jungles and whimsical forest scenes. Layers of flora, fauna, and the occasional gemstone or human figure comprise the amorphous paper artworks as they transform spaces into fantastical ecosystems.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/10/clare-borsch-paper-collage/
Diedrick Brackens Explores the Warps and Wefts of Black and Queer Histories
In darling divined, Brackens teases out the symbolism, allegory, and parable long associated with global cosmologies of tapestry weaving.
https://hyperallergic.com/596005/diedrick-brackens-darling-divined-blanton-museum/
Who is going to push you to learn? The Social Justice Sewing Academy (Part 1)
What is the Social Justice Sewing Academy? The SJSA is a non-profit based in the San Francisco Bay Area that does textile art with youth from under-resourced communities. Founded in 2017, the Academy delivers hands-on workshops in schools, prisons and community centres across the United States of America. In the workshops, young artists use textile art to explore issues and tell stories centred on the topics they want to engage with. The resulting quilt blocks are then sent to volunteers for embellishment and embroidery, before being stitched into quilts and displayed in museums, galleries and quilt shows.
Bright Floral Crochet Wraps an Iconic Stratocaster Guitar in a Psychedelic Layer of Color
A new piece by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos (previously) envelops one of Fender’s Stratocaster guitars in a vibrant sheath of wool. Titled “Flower Power,” loosely crocheted petals cover the entirety of the instrument, wrapping the body, neck, and head in a kaleidoscopic bouquet.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/10/joana-vasconcelos-flower-power/
Forget TikTok! LaceTok Is Here, and This Textile Historian Is Leading the Pack
This week’s must-follow account is Elena Naomi Kanagy-Loux (@erenanaomi), a 34-year-old creator based in Brooklyn who is captivating her audience’s attention by hand-making lace on the app.
https://www.vogue.com/article/elena-naomi-kanagy-loux-lace-tiktok-historian
An Artist Probes Her Southern Lineage in Luminous Shades of Blue
Gathering hair, indigo, and artifacts from two South Carolina plantations, Adebunmi Gbadebo: A Dilemma of Inheritance considers the materiality of the past.
https://hyperallergic.com/598437/adebunmi-gbadebo-dilemma-inheritance-claire-oliver/
Embodying a Queer, Pan-Africanist Approach to Spirituality
With Hybrid Spirit, Adejoke Tugbiyele proposes a visual language that explores the intimate connections between queerness, Indigenous African spirituality, and feminism.
https://hyperallergic.com/597837/embodying-a-queer-pan-africanist-approach-to-spirituality/