
“Tschabalala Self: Out of Body”
Curated by Ellen Tani
Born and raised in Harlem, Tschabalala Self grew up with maternal figures who sewed curtains, transformed old pants into skirts, and knit oversize blankets. Thus, textile rematerialization has become Self’s signature; her appliqué technique appears frequently among the eighteen works in this exhibition, her first in Boston and largest to date. In Sapphire, 2015, a canvas painted baby blue underpins a kaleidoscopic portrait assembled from fabric, oil, and pigment of a bodacious woman in profile. In Ol’Bay, 2019, fabric, hand-colored photocopies, and acrylic coalesce to