The cultural experiences represented in works of quilting, tapestry and fiber art have long spanned a range of communities. Now, the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles is the latest venue to present the traveling exhibition “Queer Threads,” a group show highlighting LGBTQ artists who work with fiber and textiles. The current iteration of the exhibition showcases 38 works by 37 artists, with works dating from 1972 (the early post-Stonewall days) up to the present.
The works assembled include a range of wall hangings, sculptures and installations that explore concepts of queerness within the history of domestic crafts while also addressing the marginalization of textile works because of the medium’s gendered connotations. Curated by John Chaich with the support of Ryan Patrick and Anke Larsen-Yskamp, the show is divided into counterbalancing themes of history and futurity, intimacy and topography, physicality and spirituality, vulnerability and security, labor and leisure, and individuality and community.
Featured artists include Indira Allegra and Angela Hennessy of Oakland, Alexander Hernandez and Craig Calderwood of San Francisco, and Rakeem Cunningham and April Bey of Los Angeles, as well as panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt.