Tufting Gun Tapestries On View At Logan Center Exhibitions

Logan Center Exhibitions is pleased to present the first Chicago exhibition by London-based, Turner Prize-winning architecture collective Assemble, Tufting Gun Tapestries, now on view through October 27, 2019.

At the core of the exhibition are textile experiments produced by Assemble and multidisciplinary artist Duval Timothy in collaboration with Demond Melancon and the Material Institute in New Orleans. Exploring alternative education and spatial practices, Tufting Gun Tapestries has transformed the Logan Center Gallery into an active site of learning and production through the investigation of an ancient carpet-making technique, reimagined with contemporary tufting equipment.

Assemble, a multi-disciplinary architecture, design, and art collective, is known for their community-based, collaborative process and interest in alternative education and spatial practices. Tufting Gun Tapestries builds on Assemble's ongoing connection with the Material Institute-a fashion school they co-founded with the Museum of Old and New Art that aims to provide free or affordable space, tools, and professional guidance to students in New Orleans. The project also draws on the work of one of the Material Institute's founding teachers Big Chief Demond Melancon, a contemporary artist and performer with roots in the Black Masking culture of New Orleans. Melancon will be running a class exploring the traditions and techniques of craft and costuming in the city as part of a three-week long workshop, in which students will also learn tufting gun techniques and garment design. Following this process, they will come to Chicago to lead a series of workshops at the Logan Center.

"Tufting Gun Tapestries draws from both the long and storied history of textile art as a political medium and Assemble's collaborative, participatory approach to highlight both the social and spatial possibilities of fabric as a medium," says Logan Center Exhibitions Director and Curator Yesomi Umolu.

The newly commissioned project will be presented alongside a selection of Assemble's past work, contextualizing their interest in spaces for alternative pedagogy, and their expansive, interdisciplinary view of the built environment.

Tufting Gun Tapestries is presented by Logan Center Exhibitions and curated by Yesomi Umolu, Director & Curator with Katja Rivera, Assistant Curator and Alyssa Brubaker, Exhibitions Manager. This exhibition is made possible by support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, UChicago Urban Architecture Initiative, The Reva and David Logan Foundation, and friends of the Logan Center, and is co-funded by MONA (Museum of Old and New Art).

For more information and details about related programming, visit arts/uchicago.edu/logan/gallery or follow Logan Center Exhibitions on Facebook and Instagram @logancenterexhibitions.

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