{"id":1891,"date":"2025-09-23T14:39:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T14:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/?p=1891"},"modified":"2025-09-23T16:08:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T16:08:38","slug":"tenderness-and-empathy-prevail-in-bisa-butlers-nostalgic-and-vibrant-quilts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/23\/tenderness-and-empathy-prevail-in-bisa-butlers-nostalgic-and-vibrant-quilts\/","title":{"rendered":"Tenderness and Empathy Prevail in Bisa Butler\u2019s Nostalgic and Vibrant Quilts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tenderness<\/p>\n

Harnessing the power of empathy, Bisa Butler<\/a> presents a tender, evocative suite of new works in her current exhibition, Hold Me Close<\/em> at Jeffrey Deitch<\/a>. The artist is known for her chromatic, multi-patterned quilted artworks<\/a> exploring Black history, identity, and craft traditions. Her elaborate pieces combine materials like printed cotton, silk, sequins, beads, and velvet to create both large-scale tapestries and intimate vignettes.<\/p>\n

The work in Hold Me Close <\/em>centers around the need for mutual respect, love, and togetherness in a society that has become increasingly factious. \u201cThis body of work is a visual response to how I am feeling as an African American woman living in 2025,\u201d Butler says in a statement for the show. Deeply moved by our current era of division and violence, in which hard-won civil rights are being challenged and overturned, she taps in the past to shed light on our current moment.<\/p>\n

\"a
\u201cDown, down baby\u201d (2024), after Gorden Parks, \u201cGirls Playing in Water\u201d (1956), cotton, silk, vinyl, velvet, lace netting, and polyester, quilted and appliqu\u00e9d, 107 x 105 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hold Me Close <\/em>draws on imagery from trailblazing Black photographers like Gordon Parks, Jean Depara, and Gerald Cyrus, who captured street scenes depicting Black figures going about their daily lives and enjoying one another\u2019s company. Parks, for example, was a staunch civil rights advocate who documented racial segregation and oppression of Black people to boldly illustrate the societal disparities in the 1940s and 1950s.<\/p>\n

In his two-decade role at Life <\/em>magazine, Parks captured some of his most significant work, ranging from celebrity portraits to the iconic March on Washington<\/a> in 1963. Along with numerous other photographers\u2014and acclaimed artists like Faith Ringgold<\/a> and Kerry James Marshall<\/a>\u2014that Butler turns to for reference imagery, Parks\u2019 images elucidate the evolving diversity of American culture and experience.<\/p>\n

Butler renders her figures in brilliant, mixed-media textures and vivid patterns that draw attention to expressions and interactions. The artist describes her recent work as a \u201cvisual diary,\u201d which she turns to for solace. \u201cProtections and programs for non-white Americans, women, queer people, poor people, and people with disabilities are under attack, and it has left me feeling destabilized,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In the face of uncertainty, the artist summons affection and care. \u201cLes Amoureux du Kinshasa,\u201d after a photo titled \u201cAmoureux Au Nightclub\u201d by Jean Depara, celebrates young love by depicting a couple on a night out. More works like \u201cBe Mine\u201d and \u201cMy Cherie Amour\u201d capture tender portraits of people who lean close together.<\/p>\n

\"a
\u201cLes Amoureux du Kinshasa\u201d (2025), after Jean Depara, \u201cAmoureux Au Nightclub\u201d (1951-1975), cotton, silk, lace, sequins, netting, vinyl, glass rhinestones, plastic beads, and velvet, quilted and appliqu\u00e9d, 95 x 59 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Butler\u2019s compositions also explore familial endearment and the innocence and ease of children at play together. In \u201cThe Guardian,\u201d a father warms his daughter inside of his large coat, and in \u201cDown, down baby,\u201d two young girls have an impromptu tea party in a puddle.<\/p>\n

Most of Butler\u2019s new works start with a base of jet black cotton or black velvet, onto which she layers colors and textures. \u201cUsing a dark base pushed me to incorporate more fabrics with shimmer and reflective qualities,\u201d she says. Three-dimensional textures like beads and rhinestones create the illusion of depth, encouraging us to look beyond the immediate surface. This poetically parallels how, in order to identify and connect with others in our daily lives, we must do the same. Butler says, \u201cThis collection is my visual declaration that we need love over hate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hold Me Close <\/em>continues at Jeffrey Deitch\u2019s Los Angeles location through November 1. Find more on the artist\u2019s website<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a
Detail of \u201cDown, down baby\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cMy Cherie Amour\u201d (2025), cotton, silk, lace, sequins, netting, vinyl, glass rhinestones and plastic beads, and velvet, quilted and appliqu\u00e9d, 44 x 31. 5 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cThe Guardian\u201d (2024), after Earlie Hudnall Jr., \u201cThe Guardian\u201d (1990), cotton, silk, wool, velvet, faux fur, sequins, rhinestones, and vinyl, quilted and appliqu\u00e9d, 94 x 60 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cBe Mine\u201d (2025), cotton, silk, lace, sequins, netting, vinyl, glass rhinestones and plastic beads, velvet, and faux fur, quilted and appliqu\u00e9d, 45 x 45 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u201cCoco With Morning Glories\u201d (2024), after Dana Lixenberg, \u201cCoco\u201d (1993), cotton, silk, lace, netting, tulle, sequins, glitter, beads, glass gems, metal beads, silk and polyester woven fabric, and velvet, quilted and appliqu\u00e9d, 84 x 55 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cStrawberry Letter #23\u201d (2025), after Gordon Parks, \u201cMan With Straw Hat, Washington D.C,\u201d (1942), cotton, silk, lace, sequins, netting, vinyl, glass rhinestones, plastic beads, and velvet, quilted and appliqu\u00e9d, 46 x 34 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Detail of \u201cStrawberry Letter #23\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cLa Negra Tiene Tumbao\u201d (2025), after Gerald Cyrus, \u201cBarbara and Alencar, Itaparica, Brazil\u201d (2002), cotton, silk, lace, sequins, netting, vinyl, and velvet, quilted and appliqu\u00e9d, 89 x 53 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Tenderness and Empathy Prevail in Bisa Butler\u2019s Nostalgic and Vibrant Quilts<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harnessing the power of empathy, Bisa Butler presents a tender, evocative suite of new works […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1891"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1905,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1891\/revisions\/1905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.beatlesfansunite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}