Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction

Want to appreciate more art and design in your daily life? Just look down. The apparel we wear reflects not only our personal tastes and values but also a profound relationship to modern art. Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction reveals the myriad ways textiles intersect with and influence world-renowned modern artists and movements. 

Woven Histories delves into dynamic moments when social and political issues have activated textile production and artmaking with heightened focus and urgency. Traced chronologically with 160 works made in a range of techniques—from oil painting to weaving, basketry, netting, knotting, and knitting—the exhibition explores the overlap between abstract art, fashion, design, and craft.

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The exhibition is curated by Lynne Cooke, senior curator of special projects in modern art, National Gallery of Art.

Other venues
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, September 17, 2023–January 21, 2024
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, October 25, 2024–March 2, 2025
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, April 20–September 13, 2025