Bisa Butler's Quilted Portraits Challenge Art World Hierarchies
Fiber artist Bisa Butler, whose quilted portraits resemble vibrant paintings, challenges the art world's dismissal of craft as 'less-than.' Her exhibition 'Hold Me Close' at Jeffrey Deitch in Hollywood ran through November 1. Butler notes that crafts associated with women and plantation work—weaving, basket-making, quilting—have historically been excluded from fine art. She argues that utility is often used to deny art status, while purely decorative wall pieces are accepted. Butler's work asserts love and justice through portraiture, elevating quilting to fine art.
Key facts
- Bisa Butler is a fiber artist known for quilted portraits.
- Her exhibition 'Hold Me Close' was at Jeffrey Deitch in Hollywood.
- The exhibition ran through November 1.
- Butler's works look like vibrant paintings but are made of fiber.
- Butler criticizes the art world for deeming craft as less-than.
- Ruth Asawa is cited as a figure whose craft-based work was slow to be accepted.
- Butler links the denigration of craft to its association with women and plantation work.
- The article is published by Art & Object.
Entities
Artists
- Bisa Butler
- Ruth Asawa
Institutions
- Jeffrey Deitch
- Art & Object
Locations
- Hollywood
- New York
- Los Angeles