In this series, I’ll look at art works featuring fabric by three very different women from Kazakhstan. I’d like to find out why Almagul Menlibayeva created epic videos and photographs of women swathed (or strangled?) by traditional fabrics in front of historical monuments. I’ll discover how Gulnur Mukazhanova reapplies felting techniques to create haunting face…
Category Archives: TEXTILES
American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat came of age in 1980s New York, a time when the worlds of art, fashion, music and celebrity were colliding into one. Much like his contemporaries and friends Andy Warhol and David Bowie, Basquiat brandished a public image that was as quirky, distinctive and irreverent as his art. Loose Armani suits…
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham made her name in the mid-20th century as a leading figure of the radical St Ives School in postwar Cornwall. But her long and varied career extended well beyond this timeframe, lasting up until her passing in 2004. She continued to be an innovator in her later years, delving into new territory that…
Dressing up is at the core of American photographer Cindy Sherman’s art, and it’s a passion that has fuelled her career for more than fifty years. Taking her own body as a starting point, Sherman has dressed up in a whole range of fantastical disguises, from old Hollywood starlets to terrifying clowns and fraudulent fortune…
Lee Krasner was an inimitable pioneer of Abstract Expressionism, storming her way into the 1950s New York art scene with bold, bombastic paintings. Fleshy, soft shades of beige like that of MUSHROOM Linen are nestled into some of her most famous works of art, and their warm, earthy shades bring in a living, human presence….
Asafo flags are one of Ghana’s most fascinating historical artefacts, telling vivid, colourful and intimate stories about Ghanaian culture. These vibrant and spirited flags are a 400-year-old tradition of making that has been passed down through one generation to the next, and amazingly, they are still being made today. Older flags act as cultural emblems…
Warm rust reds like AUBURN Linen tinged many of Georgia O’Keeffe’s most famous paintings, invoking dry autumn leaves, worn out buildings or the barren wilderness of old America. O’Keeffe was one of the most pioneering painters of the early to mid-20th century and she captured the spirit of America during this momentous period in history…
Andy Warhol is the undisputed king of American Pop Art, creating some of the world’s most iconic and emblematic works of art. Multiples, seriality and repetition were key themes in his art – think Campbell’s Soup Cans or Marilyn’s face – so perhaps it’s no surprise that among his many creative ventures he turned his…
Austrian artist and writer Oskar Kokoschka made a remarkable contribution to early 20th century culture, spearheading a series of daring and inventive new visual languages. In his early career, he was a pioneering decorative artist, illustrating fantastical stories with a flat, Oriental style, while his mature art was swirling with wild, expressionistic energy. Throughout these…
Vivid, striking and bold, Asafo flags are part of a three to four-hundred-year-old history, and they are still being made today. Originating from 17th century Ghana, hand-made Asafo flags are filled with powerful symbols, stories and metaphors. Much like quilts, these flags have often been passed through families from one generation to the next, holding…
British artist Eduardo Paolozzi might be best remembered as the pioneering godfather of Pop Art, a master of cut-and-paste who mashed mass media imagery with modernist art. But there are other elements of his legacy that can often be overlooked, most notably his ground-breaking work as a textile designer. Much like his art, Paolozzi brought…
Shimmering silvers like MIRAGE GRAY are a hallmark feature of British artist Bridget Riley’s art, allowing her to create mesmerising depth, movement and space. Riley is widely recognised today as the iconic leader of 1960s Op Art, and she pushed the visual effects of pattern to the extreme, exploring how dots, wavy lines and patterns…
As the word “sustainability” becomes more mainstream, it is important to understand what it means and how to recognise true sustainability. We need to look after our planet, our resources and our people to ensure that we can live sustainably. What is Sustainability? United Nations defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without…
British painter Roger Hilton was one of the most pioneering abstract painters of his generation, emerging out of the mid-20th century with a bold and uncompromising style. He had an innate ability to merge tactile expressionism with ordered simplicity, producing images that confidently dominate the space around them. Striking passages of colour are a vital…
British artist Lubaina Himid makes art with an immediately striking impact, featuring riotous displays of clashing pattern and print. Her love of bold, bright textiles is evident throughout the many strands of her practice, which have varied from painting to sculpture, drawing and installation. These dazzling textiles are, on the one hand, a theatrical device…
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04 May 2025 @ 2:12 am by Kelly Singh
14 Nov 2021 @ 1:00 am by Chinese Embroidery Hoop Installation: Step-by-Step Guide
07 Jun 2016 @ 5:33 am by Linen Pie Carrier Tote Free Sewing Pattern
27 Apr 2025 @ 9:21 am by Debbie Hogan
13 Jul 2017 @ 5:00 am by Samantha Arrington