Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction

In the 20th century, textiles were often regarded as secondary—viewed as applied art, women’s work, or domestic craft. Woven Histories challenges these hierarchies by highlighting the vital role textiles have played in shaping fine art, particularly in the realm of abstraction. The exhibition brings together over 130 works by more than 45 artists from diverse backgrounds and generations, offering a rich exploration of weaving and related techniques within modernism, one of the 20th century’s defining art movements.

Visitors will encounter a range of textile techniques, including weaving, knitting, netting, knotting, and felting, while learning about the diverse motivations that have driven artists from Anni Albers to Rosemarie Trockel and Jeffrey Gibson (Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians/Cherokee Nation). Some artists use textiles to promote social change; others address pressing political issues. For many, textiles serve as both subject and material to critique or reinvigorate abstraction’s formal language, challenging its patriarchal history and gendered identity.

Woven Histories traces the often-overlooked thread of art history, uncovering the work of creators who have been marginalized due to their gender, race, or class.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in collaboration with the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.