The exhibition title appears in red lettering against a light blue background

Printmaking owes much to textiles. Following the lead of fabric manufacturers who first used woodblocks to stamp patterns on cloth, 15th-century printmakers had the idea of impressing printing blocks (or plates) on paper to create repeatable images. Conversely, prints have long influenced the design and production of textiles. This exhibition, which starts with a section of historical examples that illustrate overlaps between prints and textiles, examines how modern and contemporary artists continue to think about the two media in combination.

Often regarded as the province of women and other marginalized groups, working with fabrics has long been relegated to the lesser realms of “craft” and “decoration.” Not surprisingly, a large number of the printed works on view were produced by or for them. Working at the intersection of prints and textiles, the 31 modern and contemporary printmakers shown here expose a way of thinking about the conjunction of the two media that favors both experimentation and greater inclusivity.

This exhibition is organized by The New York Public Library and curated by Madeleine Viljoen, Curator of Prints and the Spencer Collection.

 

Contemporary Artists on View

Derrick Adams, Graham Baldwin, Sanford Biggers, Chakaia Booker, Sarah Charlesworth, Raffaella della Olga, Tara Donovan, Sonia Gomes, Ann Hamilton, Valerie Hammond, Julia Jacquette, Ellen Lesperance, Angela Lorenz, Delita Martin, Dindga McCannon, Steve McDonald, Klea McKenna, Jonathan Monk, Loretta Pettway, Faith Ringgold, Alison Saar, Analia Saban, Dana Smith, Kiki Smith, Jacquelyn Strycker, Martha Tuttle. 

Highlights

See historical items and contemporary works on display as part of Line & Thread: Prints and Textiles from the 1600s to the Present in the Rayner Special Collections Wing on the third floor of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

Photograph of a book with an elaborate embroidered decorative binding. The binding features a religious figure kneeling while holding a cross and an open book
The Whole Book of David's Psalms
London: Printed by T. C. for the Company of sationers [sic], 1635
Embroidered satin book binding with colored silks, gold and silver thread, sequins and seed pearls
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Spencer Collection
An elaborately decorated print featuring religious imagery and multiple colors
Anonymous, 17th-century Spanish
True Image of Our Lady of Atocha
ca. 1675–1700
Print with collage
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection
Photograph of a silk textile featuring two profile portraits within ovals surrounded by a decorative floral border
Louis Bonvallet?, French, 1748–1818 (Printmaker)
After Jean Pillement, French, 1728–1808 (Designer)
[Double portrait of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette]
ca. 1781
Etching on silk
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection
Photograph of a multicolored print depicting a hand coming out of a heart graphic surrounded by colorful rays of light and clouds
Anonymous, German
“Amen” from Das Vater Unser (The Lord's Prayer)
Early 18th century
Etching and engraving with appliqued silks
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection
A vibrant print featuring a tartan-pattern design in black, red, and yellow

© The Estate of Sarah Charlesworth.

Sarah Charlesworth, American, b. 1947
“Dress Macleod” from Tartan Sets
1986
Photolithography
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection
Long description:

Faith Ringgold, "Sincerely, Seven passages to a flight"
© [2024] Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Faith Ringgold, "Sincerely, Seven passages to a flight"
© 2024 Faith Ringgold / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Faith Ringgold, American, 1930–2024
Seven Passages to a Flight
San Diego, California: Brighton Press, 1995
Illustrated book featuring nine etchings with hand additions and pochoir on linen
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Spencer Collection
A print featuring a mauve baby bonnet against an ivory background

Miriam Schapiro, "Anonymous was a Woman II: Mimi's Baby Bonnet" © 2024 Estate of Miriam Schapiro / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Miriam Schapiro, American, born Canada, 1923–2015
Anonymous Was a Woman II: Mimi's Baby Bonnet
1999
Soft-ground etching from lace matrix
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection
A large print with a design of a white lace dress against a dark blue background

© Valerie Hammond

Valerie Hammond, American, b. 1952
The Great Memory
2006
Photolithography with sequins and thread
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection
A lithograph depicting a simple blue textile with a hole ripped in it

© Ann Hamilton

Ann Hamilton, American, b. 1956
script b
2008
Lithography and chine-collé
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection
A print featuring an intricate quilt-like pattern with a large black flower in the center

© Sanford Biggers

Sanford Biggers, American, b. 1970
The Floating World: Lotus (125th)
2013
Screenprint and collage
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection
A square textile with a design featuring multiple shapes and colors

© Jonathan Monk

Jonathan Monk, British, b. 1969
Design from 24 Dessins Isométriques (Afrique Cubique)
Paris: Three Star Books, 2017
Silkscreen prints on African wax fabric
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Spencer Collection
A multicolored print featuring two Black women against a floral graphic teal background

© Delita Martin

Delita Martin, American, b. 1972
Two Moons
2022
Relief printing, decorative paper, hand stitching, and acrylic
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection
A multicolored print with a design resembling a patterned quilted textile

© Jacquelyn Strycker

Jacquelyn Strycker, American, b. 1981
Arrival
2023
Collage of Risograph prints on handmade Japanese paper and sewing
The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Print Collection

Programs & Events

Three photographs of separate artworks arranged in a horizontal row composite

Images (left to right): Valerie Hammond, Great Memory, 2008. Bang Geul Han, Warp and Weft, 2022. Jacquelyn Strycker, Arrival, 2023.

Connecting Threads: Valerie Hammond, Bang Geul Han, and Jacquelyn Strycker

Thurs, Oct 10 | 6–8 PM | The Theater at MAD

Join the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) and The New York Public Library for a conversation in The Theater at MAD on the interplay between fabric and printmaking in contemporary art with artists Valerie Hammond, Bang Geul Han, and Jacquelyn Strycker, led by Madeleine Viljoen, curator of Line & Thread: Prints and Textiles from the 1600s to the Present, which includes works by Hammond and Strycker. All three artists have pursued a rigorous multimedia inquiry of handcraft and materials that extends to forms of printmaking. The conversation will explore how the merging of print and textiles encourages experimentation in each artist’s creative practice.

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If you are interested in learning more about topics explored in Line & Thread, explore this list of titles recommended by exhibition curator Madeleine Viljoen. You can check out these books, or place them on hold, using your library card. Don't have one? Get one today.

Large Print Labels

Large print logo

Access the exhibition's large print labels.

Line & Thread: Prints and Textiles from the 1600s to the Present

Large-type labels are also available at the information desk in the McGraw Rotunda on the third floor of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

About the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs

Photo of a library reading room featuring wooden desks and wall stacks of books divided into two levels

Established in 1987 thanks to a gift from the Wallach family, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs unites what had formerly been three separate departments under a single banner. Divisional holdings comprise works of art as well as reference materials on painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography and the history of architecture from prehistoric times to the present. The Wallach Division also serves as the access point to the Spencer Collection of fine bindings and illustrated books. Together, these collections include more than one million works of art in various mediums and formats, complemented by nearly 700,000 monographs and periodicals. The quality, depth and scope of these holdings have earned the Wallach Division an international reputation among a broad variety of scholars and lovers of art.

Curatorial Acknowledgments

I am deeply grateful to Brent Reidy, Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Research Libraries, and Franses Rodriguez, Deputy Director of the Research Libraries, for their support of the exhibition. I cannot thank my colleagues in the Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs enough not only for helping me realize the exhibition but also for being such wonderful and supportive collaborators, especially Clare Bell, Deirdre Donohue, Elizabeth Cronin, Maggie Mustard, Vincenzo Rutigliano, Margaret Glover, Alvaro Lazo, Rebecca Szantyr, Theodore Walther, David Lowe, Zulay Chang, and Sergio Morales. In Exhibitions, I am deeply grateful to Becky Laughner, Amanda Raquel Dorval, Carl Auge, Tereza Chanaki, Natalie Ortiz, Ryan Douglass, Jake Hamill, Jermaine Neal, Christopher Alzapiedi, Henry Ballate who made the difficult work of mounting the show look both elegant and effortless. I thank Emily Muller, Addison Yu, Mary Oey, and Emma Guerard in Conservation, who not only made sure the works were appropriately conserved but also implemented thoughtful and innovative methods to display them. In Digital Imaging Services, I thank Rebecca Wack, Steven Crossot, Doran Walot, Jeanie Pai, Emily Hoffman, Pete Riesett, Marietta Davis, Jenny Jordan, Gratten Perea, and Rebecca Baldwin for capturing works that were often challenging to shoot on a compressed schedule. I am likewise grateful to Kiowa Hammons, Zoe Waldron, Dina Selfridge, and Molly O’Brien for coordinating the rights to the works and for making them available on Digital Collections. I thank my other colleagues in Special Collections, especially Liz Denlinger, Charles Carter, Carolyn Vega, Julie Carlsen and Michael Inman for sharing their knowledge and amazing collections with me. I extend my thanks to Deborah Straussman, Caryn Gedell and Martin Branch-Shaw in the Registrar’s Office for managing the seamless movement of works in the show. My sincere thanks go to Charles Arrowsmith, Laurie Beckoff, Sandee Roston, Lizzie Tribone and Maya Sariahmed for their role in all aspects of promoting and publicizing the show and Fay Rosenfeld, Aidan Flax-Clark, and Margie Cook for helping to realize programming around the event in the Vartan Gregorian Center for Research in the Humanities. I thank Ivi Diamantopoulou, Jaffer Kolb and Nashwah Ahmed from New Affiliates; Courtney Gooch, Rory Simms, and Clara Angela from Portrait for developing a beautiful and thoughtful design; and Mim Harrison for thoughtfully editing and correcting exhibition label copy. 

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