The Ministry of Culture, Bradesco and Instituto Tomie Ohtake present Sheila Hicks – What Is That?, an exhibition Curated by Ana Roman, Luis Pérez-Oramas and Paulo Miyada dedicated to American artist Sheila Hicks, one of the leading international figures in the expansion of textile practices in contemporary art.
The exhibition occupies two galleries at the Institute, bringing together an extensive selection of works produced over more than six decades, including landmark pieces, recent works, and a new installation conceived especially for the show.
Developed in close dialogue with Hicks, the show traces her ongoing investigation of thread as material, structure, and a mode of thinking, within a practice that crosses boundaries between painting, sculpture, design, and textile art. Approximately 30 works spanning the past six decades are on display, including small weavings, reliefs, sculptures, and large-scale installations. Also featured are photographs taken by the artist and by Chilean photographer Sergio Larrain during travels through Latin America in the late 1950s, as well as a selection of Andean textiles, a core element in the formation and development of Hicks’s practice.