A thread in itself is a tiny thing, but many together become something to reckon with. The possibilities of fiber arts are explored by 11 contemporary Latina artists in the current exhibition, “Expansive Threads,” on view now at Latino Arts. They are represented through singular pieces that often mediate between sculpture and installations.
Johanna Moscoso’s Lohs see-Eh-teh coh-Loh-res is one of the first pieces you’ll encounter in the exhibition, as it lies out on the gallery floor like a large pool of deep blue with stark white highlights. It has the appearance of a giant cyanotype at first, but rather than resulting from a permanent printing process, the materials used are simply blue velvet and white powder. The cloudy shimmers where the powder is less dense create an aquamarine haze, like the ocean or sky, perhaps alluding to the seven colors suggested by the title.
On a more narrative note are Brianna Lynn Hernandez Baurichter and her installation, Sylvia. A rather antique dressing table with a mirror is placed in the gallery, the drawers slightly open to reveal neatly folded clothes inside, and a pair of women’s brown leather shoes sits demurely on the floor. The dresser is covered by a long lace doily, as well as an analogue clock, and a picture frame showing a looping video. The insertion of this technology takes us into a place where the story perhaps unfolds, as we seem to peer through a keyhole. We see a woman’s pensively folded hands as she eventually turns around and opens a door. A bright sunlit room, maybe with this dressing table inside, awaits. But then the video ends, like abruptly waking up from a dream. It gives weight to an idea that these things—the clothing, the lace—are like markers for this mysterious Sylvia. What that means or the rest of the story, is left unsaid.
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The spoken and unspoken aspects of this exhibition are plentiful, as many of the artists allude to the cultural importance of threads and textiles, both as self-expression as well as ties that bind.
Through June 9 at Latino Arts, 1028 S. Ninth St.
