Warp, Weft, and the Grid

Warp, Weft, and the Grid highlights the artistic significance of 19th and early 20th-century southern Appalachian coverlets, exploring how the designs of these handwoven textiles anticipated many of the same visually arresting motifs at the heart of Modernist geometric abstraction in later 20th century art. The exhibition displays historic coverlets alongside works ranging from the color theory experiments and avant-garde weavings of Josef and Anni Albers to Julian Stanczak’s dynamic optical illusions, and even early computer-based art, emphasizing their shared visual language. It offers new perspectives on women’s artistic labor as well as the material history and experimental ethos of weavers in the region, foregrounding the remarkable artistic and technical merit of the artists who made them.

Sponsored in part by Fleur Bresler.