“The Dressing Room” by Michelle Kingdom
Last Saturday was the opening reception for Michelle Kingdom’s “small scale embroideries that explore psychological themes and influences.” Her work was unknown until recently, and went immediately viral. This show has been highly anticipated by her fans.
I find her work to be radically feminist. She has taken traditional “woman’s work” and used it to express herself as an artist. Instead of accepting the busy work women are assigned to keep us out of trouble, she turns it around so it becomes her voice. The juxtaposition of the hominess of needlepoint with the intensity of the images creates an entirely new kind of art.
“My work explores psychological landscapes, illuminating thoughts left unspoken. I create tiny worlds in thread to capture elusive yet persistent inner voices. Literary snippets, memories, personal mythologies, and art historical references inform the imagery; fused together, these influences explore relationships, domesticity and self-perception. Symbolism and allegory lay bare dynamics of aspiration and limitation, expectation and loss, belonging and alienation, truth and illusion.”- Michelle Kingdom
The show runs through October 29th 2016 and is open Tuesday-Saturday 11:30am-6pm. The closing Reception is October 29th, 2016 5-8pm. Location: bG Gallery (Bleicher/Gorman), 2525 Michigan Ave. G8A, Santa Monica CA, 90404 +1 310 906 4211
