How Textiles Weave Together the Cycle of Life

CHICAGO — As I ponder what to wear this morning or whether the bedsheets are fresh, I am reminded of the textiles we often overlook. These everyday items come easily and inexpensively from distant places, stripped of their significance and the effort involved in their creation. 

Historically, textiles have carried deep meaning, embodying immense time and skill. They represent the essence of our experiences through the clothes we wear, the tapestries we display, the bundles we wrap, and the blankets we snuggle under. I find this weight of significance in personal items like the throw blanket crocheted by my grandmother shortly before her passing, or the quilt my husband and I have cherished since our wedding two decades ago. 

Currently, four exhibitions in Chicago each explore modern interpretations of textiles. Among them, Kiah Celeste’s show stands out for its humor. Her spandex paintings, showcased at Document, playfully challenge the absurdity of athleisurewear. Utilizing sports fabrics stretched over poplar frames, she creates tension and humor through unexpected material combinations. A large maroon piece features a protruding slab of Corian, while stacks of buckets morph a stretch of baby blue fabric. A thin plastic cord pulls a delicate forest green strip into an elegant curve. 

In contrast, Jacqueline Surdell’s solo exhibition at Secrist|Beach is more formidable. Her enormous weavings boldly fill the vast gallery space. The piece titled “Suddenly, she was hell-bent and ravenous (after Giotto)” spans 21 feet, showcasing Surdell’s knack for intertwining thick, colored nylon cords and fabric printed with Old Master artworks. It oscillates between being awkward and breathtaking, yet it undeniably captivates.

Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson’s recent works at Andrew Rafacz Gallery depict surreal and vibrant landscapes. The artist, inspired by her annual trips to Iceland, meticulously dyes unwoven silk threads in her Cleveland studio, creating tapestries that vibrate with the drama of the extraordinary Icelandic scenery, from electrifying blues of lagoons to acid-yellow mountains.

These three galleries showcase essential perspectives in contemporary fiber art. Furthermore, On Loss and Absence: Textiles of Mourning and Survival, exhibited at the Art Institute, is a must-visit for anyone who has interacted with fabric, experienced loss, or felt spiritual connections, which is everyone. This exhibition highlights more than 100 pieces from the museum’s extensive collection, ranging from a Malian ceremonial tunic to a massive silk scroll illustrating Buddha’s death, alongside a tondo woven from Velcro and velvet fuzz by Angela Hennessy from 2014. The four co-curators of this poignant and innovative exhibition — Isaac Facio, Nneka Kai, L Vinebaum, and Anne Wilson — are all fiber artists themselves.

On Loss and Absence opens with the theme of death, maintaining an underlying presence throughout. Displayed are ancient Egyptian mummy wrappings, a 17th-century engraving of one of Jesus’s shrouds, and another by Goya, depicting a woman amongst swaddled wartime victims. Two ancient cotton masks, designed to emulate heads when stuffed and sewn upon bundles containing the deceased, originated from the Paracas civilization, which thrived 2,000 years ago along Peru’s southern coast. Among the collection are intricately patterned skirts, such as a stunning wrap adorned with a black and white checkerboard edging, likely amassed by a noblewoman of the Kuba Kingdom in Africa to indicate her status and accompany her in death. 

Items intended for the living, especially those meant to aid in mourning, are also featured. Michael Olszewski’s “Mourning,” a somber abstraction of fabrics punctuated by a sharp embroidery stitch, was conceived as his father approached the end of life in 1989. Carina Yepez’s quilt, lovingly stitched with her family, honors long-lost girls including her grandmother, all participants in a 1930s sewing group in Mexico. The Victorian fascination with grief led to jewelry and other works made from the hair of the deceased. One of my favorites is an 1800 gold locket adorned with a white braid alongside a snippet of auburn hair, its back inscribed with two dates of death.

Hair prominently figures in On Loss and Absence. Its textile-like nature makes it a compelling material, especially as it can be gathered with minimal effort. A funeral wrapper from the Asante culture features fabric designs inspired by traditional hairstyles worn by royal attendants, while wool plaits embellishing a Bamiléké hat are designated for masked dancers at healing ceremonies. Additionally, Nneka Kai’s performance installation, “Lasting ‘Til Sunday,” revisits her childhood practice of having her hair cornrowed by her mother—a testament that braiding is indeed an act of care.

Additionally, the theme of repair carries weighty significance. This can manifest in the simplicity of darning, as evidenced by elaborate mending samplers created by early 19th-century Northern European schoolgirls, or in the meticulous conservation of a Taoist high priest’s robe. Paul Schulze, a design professor who passed away in 1928, cleverly integrated a piece of 14th-century Italian silk with his artistic interpretation through intricate watercolor and ink drawings. Display cases reveal such textile fragments, some featuring evidence of age and decay while others display the remnants deliberately cut up for commerce or organization. An intriguing replica aims to fool collectors seeking remains from the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258 CE). These remnants radiate a sense of loss — both material and the erasure of artisanal skills and cultural authenticity. A segment of an Edo-period kimono, adorned with an embroidered character, becomes indecipherable separated from its entirety, while a collection of exquisite lace edgings represents craftsmanship overshadowed by mechanization.

Yet, loss can also unveil. The deterioration of textiles illuminates the ancient Nazca techniques behind charming garment borders featuring pampas cats. Revitalized Andean methods and aesthetics are being championed by Noqanchis, a weaving collective founded in Peru in 2021, showcasing the enduring spirit of cultural heritage through named artists’ works. These acts of survival occupy the exhibition’s concluding gallery. Amongst them, Kai’s mother-daughter cornrowing symbolizes resistance to systemic oppression, paralleled in Dorothy Burge’s ten-foot-tall quilted portraits of two women wrongfully imprisoned by the Chicago police. A collection of Diné blankets, including an ultramodern piece by renowned Hastiin Tła from 1925 and a set of contemporary miniatures by Barbara Teller Ornelas, affirm the ongoing presence of Native Americans against historical dispossession and marginalization. Finally, a 19th-century indigo and crimson jellaya from Ramallah adorned with traditional tatreez invites viewers to consider the enduring legacy of Palestinian culture amid current hardships.

Artifact Unidentified: Kiah Celeste, Gordon Hall is on view at Document (1709 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois) until November 1, organized by the gallery.

Jacqueline Surdell: The Conversion: Rings, Rupture, and the Forest Archive is at Secrist|Beach (1801 W Hubbard Street, Chicago, Illinois) through November 15, organized by the gallery.

Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson: Glacial Landscapes is on display at Andrew Rafacz (1749 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois) until November 1, organized by the gallery.

On Loss and Absence: Textiles of Mourning and Survival continues at the Art Institute of Chicago (111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois) through March 15. The exhibition was curated by Isaac Facio, Nneka Kai, L Vinebaum, and Anne Wilson, with senior museum advisor Melinda Watt.