On view at Fruitlands Museum April – August 2021, the group exhibition Piecework: Resistance and Healing in Contemporary Textile Art merges past and present, craft and critique, to present fresh ways to understand American history and material culture beyond aesthetics and nostalgia. Art by Gina Adams, Alicia Henry, Andrew Mowbray, and Leslie Schomp dialogue with and build upon the traditional mediums of needlework and quilting to offer constructive responses to the topics of Indigenous land rights; the representation of Black people, by Black people; capitalism; and environmentalism, respectively.

The artists included in Piecework utilize stitching and fabrics in personally expressive ways directly inspired by historic forms including folk portraits, Transcendentalist writings, and Shaker design, with an eye toward improving the future. Methods of mending, repairing, and integrating found materials are of prominent focus in these artists’ works and correspond to issues of societal stress, self-reflection, and the reworking of worn historical narratives. Piecework consists of contemporary art displayed in concert with each other in the art gallery and four artistic interventions within historical settings.

The exhibition is generously supported in part by the Coby Foundation, Ltd.