Lose Yourself in These Iridescent Embroidered Mandalas

Gao Rong's sculptures blend Chinese tradition with experimental embroidery.

by Beckett Mufson

January 8, 2016, 10:00pm

Gao Rong, Triangle 2, Wood and thread, 105 x 105 x 4 cm, 2015

Chinese artist Cao Rung is a seamstress of the utmost skill, receiving accolades for a hyperrealistic recreation of her grandparents' home constructed entirely with embroidered cloth. Contrasting The Static Eternity, an exhibition of new works at Klein Sun Gallery focuses on the seams themselves, rather than Rong's ability to weave an illusion. The series is called The Simple Line, but the pieces are anything but simple.

Each piece combines a slew of differently-colored threads into a many-layered ecosystem of color. Rong stretches the materials across wooden frames with the aid of her mother, who helped teach her the traditional Chinese embroidery techniques upon which her work relies. The two employ a dearth of weaving and sewing techniques, including a pattern normally used for sutures, to give the sculptures their own unique textures. Rong has said that she describes herself not as an embroiderer, but as a sculptor who happens to use embroidery. The Simple Line is not as complex as Rong's previous work, but it's impossible to deny the artworks' presence as new and sophisticated work distinct from the folk traditions upon which it is based.

Check out The Simple Line in the images below.