Standing on the elegant spiral staircase of London’s Apsley House, former home of the first Duke of Wellington, artist David Medalla is photographed holding a swathe of tattered yellow fabric. He faces Antonio Canova’s sculptural rendering of Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker, a heroic statue at almost 4m high, and a commissioned gift from Italian artist to French emperor until it moved across the channel following England’s victory at Waterloo. Medalla’s offering, modest by comparison, has likewise traveled through many hands: entitled A Stitch in Time, the textile work is adorned with messages, keepsakes and detritus sewn on by numerous collaborators. Pictured likewise before Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus and beyond, the piece is a kind of travelogue through history and geography, both within and outside itself.
Medalla, a Manila-born artist, world-traveller and pioneer of kinetic art, conceived of A Stitch in Time in the 1960s when he gave handkerchiefs to two ex-lovers in Heathrow airport, with instructions to embroider whatever they pleased; he encountered one of the cloths years later, carried by a backpacker from Bali to Amsterdam.
The ensuing series explores themes of time, circulation and chance encounters, and it continues at New York's Venus Over Manhattan, where a new iteration is currently in production (alongside an earlier 2013 version). Spools of coloured thread dangle over the nearly 8m-long cloth, so that visitors may add words, pictures or small items like receipts and candy wrappers. In this paranoid year of border restrictions and global distrust, Medalla’s utopian vision is a welcome homage to serendipity and interconnectedness.
Medalla, a Manila-born artist, world-traveller and pioneer of kinetic art, conceived of A Stitch in Time in the 1960s when he gave handkerchiefs to two ex-lovers in Heathrow airport, with instructions to embroider whatever they pleased. Pictured: installation view
Standing on the spiral staircase of London’s Apsley House, Medalla (pictured left) is photographed holding a swath of yellow fabric, facing Antonio Canova’s Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker. Pictured right: the original 1960s iteration of A Stitch in Time. Courtesy the artist and VENUS
In this paranoid year of border restrictions and global distrust, Medalla’s utopian vision is a welcome homage to serendipity and interconnectedness
Spools of coloured thread dangle over the nearly 8m-long cloth. Pictured: installation view
The ensuing series explores themes of time, circulation and chance encounters. The work on view at Venus is simply the newest version
The exhibition also features a history of keepsakes, ephemera and photographs of Medalla and his works
INFORMATION
’David Medalla: I am an enigma, even to my self’ is on view until 5 August. For more information, visit the Venus Over Manhattan website
Photography: Andy Romer Photography. Courtesy VENUS
ADDRESS
Venus Over Manhattan
980 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10075
-
The Barbican as muse: composer Shiva Feshareki on bringing the brutalist icon to life through musicFor the last two years, British-Iranian experimental composer and turntablist Shiva Feshareki has been drawing on the Barbican’s hidden history as a gateway for her new piece. She talks to Wallpaper* about her Brutalist muse
-
London's coolest design-led coffee shops for your Fashion Week fixCoffee shops are the heart of London’s neighbourhoods, discover those fusing speciality beans and stylish interiors for the perfect brew
-
Martine Rose’s first gallery show celebrates the radical queer energy of Bronski BeatTaking place at Sadie Coles over London Fashion Week, ‘Everything Must Change’ centres on a 2016 short film by menswear designer Martine Rose and image-maker Sharna Osborne starring Bronski Beat frontman Jimmy Somerville
-
'We need to be constantly reminded of our similarities' – Jonathan Baldock challenges the patriarchal roots of a former Roman temple in LondonThrough use of ceramics and textiles, British artist Jonathan Baldock creates a magical and immersive exhibition at ‘0.1%’ at London's Mithraum Bloomberg Space
-
Meet Kenia Almaraz Murillo, the artist rethinking weavingKenia Almaraz Murillo draws on the new and the traditional in her exhibition 'Andean Cosmovision' at London's Waddington Custot
-
Tanya Aguiñiga: the artist weaving new narratives for borderless creativityWe profile LA-based artist and Loewe Foundation Craft Prize finalist Tanya Aguiñiga, whose work explores life on the US-Mexico border and seeks to empower transnational voices
-
Louis Barthélemy’s tapestries capture the sublimity and dynamism of Senegalese wrestling‘Mbër Yi / The Wrestlers’ at the Théodore Monod African Art Museum (IFAN) in Dakar sees French artist Louis Barthélemy respond to Senegalese mysticism in appliquéd hangings
-
Cecilia Vicuña’s ‘Brain Forest Quipu’ wins Best Art Installation in the 2023 Wallpaper* Design AwardsBrain Forest Quipu, Cecilia Vicuña's Hyundai Commission at Tate Modern, has been crowned 'Best Art Installation' in the 2023 Wallpaper* Design Awards
-
Faith Ringgold on capturing the complexity of the American experience: ‘It takes courage to be free’We interview Faith Ringgold, whose major retrospective exhibition ‘American People’ runs until 27 November at the de Young Musuem, San Francisco
-
Textile artists: the pioneers of a new material worldThese contemporary textile artists are weaving together the rich tapestry of fibre art in new ways
-
Riotous colour, terrific textiles: Sheila Hicks: ‘Off Grid’ at The Hepworth WakefieldFiber art icon Sheila Hicks’ much-anticipated show at The Hepworth Wakefield is a career-spanning celebration of voluminous form and vibrant colour
