Weaving the Past into the Future: The Lady and the Unicorn: New Tapestry at Salon 94
Jason Yim / Published December 1, 2024 09:32 PM
Jason Yim
Qualeasha Wood, bed rot, 2024, Woven jacquard, glass seed beads, and machine embroidery, 55 x 72 in 139.7 x 182.9 cm, Courtesy of Salon 94
Salon 94’s latest exhibition, The Lady and the Unicorn: New Tapestry, redefines the boundaries of traditional weaving, bringing together a striking array of global artists and materials. Running through December 21, 2024, the show draws inspiration from the iconic 16th-century Flemish tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn and extends the medium's possibilities into modern, experimental realms.
Housed at the Musée de Cluny in Paris, the original The Lady and the Unicorn series is celebrated for its mille fleurs motif and intricate allegories on the senses. Yet its mystique extends beyond visual splendor, as scholars continue to debate the meaning of the enigmatic phrase, À mon seul désir, woven into one of its panels. For centuries, these tapestries have been lauded as the pinnacle of textile art. However, Salon 94’s curator Fabienne Stephan aims to expand the narrative by presenting contemporary tapestries that question this Eurocentric legacy while embracing global textile traditions.
The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Salon 94
The exhibition features works by prominent artists such as Porfirio Gutierrez, Margaret Rarru Garrawurra, and Qualeasha Wood, among others, who each reinterpret weaving through their cultural and material lenses. Gutierrez, a Zapotec artist, integrates natural dyes derived from pecans and pomegranates, turning the flowers of mille fleurs from decorative elements into foundational building blocks. Meanwhile, Garrawurra’s towering pandan-leaf sail bridges Indigenous Yolngu weaving traditions with contemporary art, symbolizing the intersection of ancestral knowledge and everyday functionality.
In contrast, Kyoto-based artist Mitsuko Asakura examines the industrial evolution of weaving. Her half-finished bamboo loom sculptures evoke Japan’s historical dyeing and weaving practices, embedding the loom itself into her art to disrupt conventional production hierarchies. Sagarika Sundaram’s wool sculptures bypass weaving altogether, employing felt-making techniques to create visceral, layered pieces that blur the line between art and nature. These works, with their skin-like textures and vibrant pigments sourced globally, echo both natural and human complexity.
The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Salon 94
Another highlight is Adeline Halot’s stainless steel and flax linen sculptures, which critique the material desires historically tied to tapestries. Her metallic works recall how tapestries, once symbols of opulence, were often dismantled during political upheavals for their precious threads. Halot’s intricate craftsmanship offers a tactile counterpoint to today’s digital illusions, blending historical reverence with futuristic vision.
Qualeasha Wood brings a distinctly digital perspective to the exhibition. Her computer-assisted tapestries, embellished with hand embroidery and beading, explore the intersections of surveillance, commodification, and desire in the online age. Wood’s work critiques how Black women’s identities are consumed in digital spaces while positioning textiles as a bridge between analog craftsmanship and digital innovation. Her process updates Anni Albers’s assertion that “threads were the earliest transmitters of meaning,” emphasizing weaving’s enduring relevance in technological and social discourse.
The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Salon 94
Through these diverse approaches, The Lady and the Unicorn: New Tapestry underscores the adaptability of weaving as both an art form and a medium for storytelling. The exhibition not only celebrates the technical and allegorical mysteries of its namesake but also highlights other cultural narratives that deserve equal recognition. As curator Stephan aptly notes, “Centuries after its creation, the medium of weaving can still tell new epic stories and inspire an ideal future.” Visitors to Salon 94 are invited to witness this transformative dialogue, where threads of history and innovation intertwine to weave a broader, more inclusive tapestry of human creativity.
Sayart / Jason Yim, yimjongho1969@gmail.com
Qualeasha Wood, bed rot, 2024, Woven jacquard, glass seed beads, and machine embroidery, 55 x 72 in 139.7 x 182.9 cm, Courtesy of Salon 94
Salon 94’s latest exhibition, The Lady and the Unicorn: New Tapestry, redefines the boundaries of traditional weaving, bringing together a striking array of global artists and materials. Running through December 21, 2024, the show draws inspiration from the iconic 16th-century Flemish tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn and extends the medium's possibilities into modern, experimental realms.
Housed at the Musée de Cluny in Paris, the original The Lady and the Unicorn series is celebrated for its mille fleurs motif and intricate allegories on the senses. Yet its mystique extends beyond visual splendor, as scholars continue to debate the meaning of the enigmatic phrase, À mon seul désir, woven into one of its panels. For centuries, these tapestries have been lauded as the pinnacle of textile art. However, Salon 94’s curator Fabienne Stephan aims to expand the narrative by presenting contemporary tapestries that question this Eurocentric legacy while embracing global textile traditions.
The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Salon 94
The exhibition features works by prominent artists such as Porfirio Gutierrez, Margaret Rarru Garrawurra, and Qualeasha Wood, among others, who each reinterpret weaving through their cultural and material lenses. Gutierrez, a Zapotec artist, integrates natural dyes derived from pecans and pomegranates, turning the flowers of mille fleurs from decorative elements into foundational building blocks. Meanwhile, Garrawurra’s towering pandan-leaf sail bridges Indigenous Yolngu weaving traditions with contemporary art, symbolizing the intersection of ancestral knowledge and everyday functionality.
In contrast, Kyoto-based artist Mitsuko Asakura examines the industrial evolution of weaving. Her half-finished bamboo loom sculptures evoke Japan’s historical dyeing and weaving practices, embedding the loom itself into her art to disrupt conventional production hierarchies. Sagarika Sundaram’s wool sculptures bypass weaving altogether, employing felt-making techniques to create visceral, layered pieces that blur the line between art and nature. These works, with their skin-like textures and vibrant pigments sourced globally, echo both natural and human complexity.
The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Salon 94
Another highlight is Adeline Halot’s stainless steel and flax linen sculptures, which critique the material desires historically tied to tapestries. Her metallic works recall how tapestries, once symbols of opulence, were often dismantled during political upheavals for their precious threads. Halot’s intricate craftsmanship offers a tactile counterpoint to today’s digital illusions, blending historical reverence with futuristic vision.
Qualeasha Wood brings a distinctly digital perspective to the exhibition. Her computer-assisted tapestries, embellished with hand embroidery and beading, explore the intersections of surveillance, commodification, and desire in the online age. Wood’s work critiques how Black women’s identities are consumed in digital spaces while positioning textiles as a bridge between analog craftsmanship and digital innovation. Her process updates Anni Albers’s assertion that “threads were the earliest transmitters of meaning,” emphasizing weaving’s enduring relevance in technological and social discourse.
The installation view of the exhibition, Courtesy of Salon 94
Through these diverse approaches, The Lady and the Unicorn: New Tapestry underscores the adaptability of weaving as both an art form and a medium for storytelling. The exhibition not only celebrates the technical and allegorical mysteries of its namesake but also highlights other cultural narratives that deserve equal recognition. As curator Stephan aptly notes, “Centuries after its creation, the medium of weaving can still tell new epic stories and inspire an ideal future.” Visitors to Salon 94 are invited to witness this transformative dialogue, where threads of history and innovation intertwine to weave a broader, more inclusive tapestry of human creativity.
