Sarah Zapata’s Immersive Architectural Installations Expand Rich Textile Traditions — Colossal



Art

#fiber art #installation #Sarah Zapata #sculpture #textile

Sarah Zapata he is interested in the presence of fabrics. His large-scale immersive installations are architectural, with meter-high columns looming over interiors, ladders holding works sewn onto their rungs, and structural forms arranged like walls or distant skylines. Expanding the realm of textiles beyond physical touch and practical use, Zapata considers how fibers occupy space and how traditions and notions of community continue to evolve. “What I always think about when installing, and why I find it so important, is that the viewer is literally part of the work,” he says, noting that he tends to use space as a material itself. Enveloping and robust, Zapata’s pieces immerse viewers in a world of bold and exuberant fiber.

Last March, Zapata closed a solo show at John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, who transformed the gallery into an immersive chamber of dichotomies: palettes of tan and gray that stood out against red and lavender, the elegant lines of painted stripes contrasted with the textured fringe of the fiber, and hues met calm and neutral the regal and unbridled energy of the vivid colour.

Titled a resilience of things unseenthe exhibition refers to Book of Revelation, the apocalyptic Christian text that Zapata often encountered as a child in an evangelical home. The installation drew on her adolescent experiences with religious fear, alongside the alarm produced by the early days of the pandemic when everything was uncertain. Color played an important role in addressing these concerns and the inclusion of black, white and grays became the artist’s opportunity to consider their own predilections. « I’m always very afraid it’s too good, » says Zapata. “Beauty is a very important entry point, and I always think about how the work can be accessible… but (I) have to challenge myself to use such ugly things. And I hate neutrals.

“A resilience of things not seen” (2022), installation at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Image courtesy of the artist and JMKAC

Focused on hope and the possibilities of the future, the exhibition also called attention to textile heritage and was, in part, a tribute to Lenore Tawney. The delicate pioneering fiber artist”Cloud mazewas suspended in that same gallery during a 2019 retrospective. While Zapata has for many years focused on the soil and its humble nature, in this exhibition she has extended her work to the ceiling, once again reinforcing the polarity of space by placing its fabrics in the center. « I’m always thinking about how to occupy opposites and how to really be both and neither, » she tells Colossal. « I’m always trying to lean into this in-between space, not just physically, but thinking about it in terms of time and accessing the past, the future, existing in the present, always this amorphous sense of time. »

This nebulous state figures prominently in Zapata’s practice, which filters longstanding cultural mores through his decidedly contemporary lens. He often refers to his works as ruins and draws on pre-colonial weaving practices in Peru, his father’s native country and a region with a strong heritage of women collectively working with fibers. While textiles today tend to be drenched in plastic and part of an extremely wasteful fast fashion ecosystem, they have historically been linked to longevity and a respect for the material itself.

« Textiles are very indicative of time and of course trade, but I think they’re just such a beautiful indicator of one’s existence, » says Zapata, noting that he often returns to the rituals of the Paracas peninsula. Andean peoples are known for their elaborate embroidery and use of cloth to celebrate life’s milestones. Much of the artist’s work references these ancient practices, along with biblical narratives, queer history and, of course, the technicalities of such an ancient craft.

“Existing with the moon under our feet” (2022), installation at Deli Gallery, New York, New York. Image courtesy of the artist and Deli Gallery

Currently, Zapata works on three looms at his Red Hook studio, one of which he recently acquired from his alma mater, the University of North Texas, Denton, after the institution shut down its fiber program. Weaving in recent years has become a « way to reset, a way to really step into this new paradigm of the world », and what has emerged is an exploration of variety and potential. Some of his recent pieces, which were on display last year at Deli Gallery in New York, they include tall pedestals cloaked in patches of shag, tightly woven stripes, and conical pockets jutting out from the sides. Rich in colour, pattern and texture, the works continue the artist’s interest in contrast and juxtaposition.

Zapata will present a new installation this August at The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri, which alludes to the revolutionary lesbian community Womontown emerged in the city in the 1980s. He will also inaugurate a solo exhibition in September at Poggiali Gallery in Milan. Find more of his work on his site AND Instagram.

“A resilience of things not seen” (2022), installation at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Image courtesy of the artist and JMKAC

Detail of “A resilience of things not seen” (2022), installation at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Image courtesy of the artist and JMKAC

“How many times do they move between the planets II” (2022), installation at Unit Gallery, London. Photo by Marcus Peel

“Existing with the moon under our feet” (2022), installation at Deli Gallery, New York, New York. Image courtesy of the artist and Deli Gallery

Zapata in his studio (2022). Photo by Ignacio Torres

#fiber art #installation #Sarah Zapata #sculpture #textile

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