Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles exhibition

This bold group exhibition delves into the innovative and unexpected ways contemporary artists are working with textiles

Hayward Gallery Touring presents Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles, a dynamic group exhibition showcasing how artists are pushing the boundaries of textile art in innovative and radical ways. Highlighting the diverse roles textiles play in contemporary art, the exhibition features works that take the intimate, domestic qualities of fabric and transform them into bold, theatrical, unsettling, and humorous pieces that challenge perceptions and offer fresh perspectives. It is currently showing at the Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry until 15 December.

The exhibition features works from 15 UK-based artists, mostly created in the past decade, all of whom engage deeply with the cultural history of textiles while pushing the boundaries of its traditional associations. Through their art, textiles are reimagined in unexpected ways, turning the familiar into the extraordinary. The exhibition explores themes of gender, identity, community, race, technology, and myth, revealing the material’s transformative power in the hands of diverse artists.

Highlighted works include Phyllida Barlow’s Untitled: Canvasracks (2018–2019), a striking yet anti-monumental sculpture made from multicoloured cotton canvas and concrete; Holly Hendry’s kinetic sculpture Slacker (2019), which uses synthetic materials and fabrics to create a rotating ‘skin’ inspired by the Jacquard loom; and Paloma Proudfoot’s The Mannequin’s Reply (2023), a ceramic assemblage with textile elements informed by her background in fashion and pattern cutting.

The exhibition features contributions from artists such as Caroline Achaintre, Jonathan Baldock, Phyllida Barlow, Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Alexandre da Cunha, Holly Hendry, Tonico Lemos Auad, Paul Maheke, Anna Perach, Yelena Popova, Paloma Proudfoot, Yinka Shonibare, Rae-Yen Song, Tenant of Culture, and Zadie Xa.