This summer Eastman is included in Threading the Needle, an exhibition of work by contemporary artists using fabric and fiber practices showing at The Church in Sag Harbor. Threading the Needle is curated by Sara Cochran and Eric Fischl.
The compelling works gathered for this exhibition question and blur the artificial boundaries between fine art and craft as well as between genres historically associated with feminine or masculine roles. By tapping into the rich historical vein of traditionally handmade crafts, contemporary artists have, in greater numbers, been adapting and utilizing techniques derived from tapestry, weaving, embroidery, beading, quilting, and knitting that have profound effects on the meaning and aesthetics of their work. In counterpoint, craft practitioners have taken up the conceptual mantle of contemporary art to imbue their legacy materials with a new resonance. Artworks in this exhibition expand an aesthetic conversation into the realms of fashion, design, politics, race, gender identity, and technology. From intimately scaled works to immersive site-specific installations, these works reinterpret the histories of art and fabric and add nuance to principles of contemporary art. Questions of the interplay between skill, technique, and concept are at the center of this exhibition, challenging a cultural hierarchy that has traditionally privileged painting and sculpture and has valued certain skill sets while disregarding others.
The show features works by 50 international and local artists, including El Anatsui, Tabitha Arnold, Louise Bourgeois, Diedrick Brakens, Margarita Cabrera, Nick Cave, Judy Chicago, Helena Hernmarck, Candace Hill-Montgomery, Alice Hope, Mike Kelley, Laurie Lambrecht, Dinh Q. Le, Daniel Lind-Ramos, Christa Maiwald, Charles McGill, Ernesto Neto, Maria Nepomuceno, Sheila Pepe, Erin M. Riley, Faith Ringgold, Toni Ross, Bastienne Schmidt, Alan Shields, Julianne Swartz, and Hank Willis Thomas.
The Church
48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor
Opening reception: June 30, 2022, 6–8 pm.
On view Wednesdays to Sundays, 12–5 pm.
July 1 to September 18, 2022
For more information contact
cecilia@thechurchsagharbor.org