The term “spoke” has traditionally referred to a piece of split log, like those used as supports in a wagon wheel. Traditional basket-making techniques draw on that same concept by weaving flexible material through a stronger framework. For French artistic duo Daniel Dewar and Grégory Gicquel, notions of interlaced strands, patterns, ecosystems, and vessels shape their solo exhibition, The Weaver and the Spoke, at Antenna Space in Shanghai.

Permaculture, a land management approach geared toward working with, rather than against nature, suffuses Dewar and Gicquel’s work, which often depicts animals and habitats coexisting alongside interspersed human-made elements. The chart-like quilts take cues from folk art or early natural history illustrations, where flora and fauna intermingle with items the artists employ in their studio, like thread and sewing machines. Knitted sweaters, woven loafers, and snail shells continue their interest in repetition, receptacles, and protective layers.

Dewar and Gicquel toy with the distinctions between art and function. The traditional purpose of quilts as bed coverings complements sculptures that double as storage, like in “Oak cabinet with woven loafer shoe and leg.” Hats and shoes nod to the garment industry, making a lighthearted comparison between textile’s pliable role throughout fine art, craft, apparel, and decorative arts.

The Weaver and the Spoke continues through May 11. See more on the artists’ Instagram.

“Embroidered quilt with common flax plant, sticky flax plant, narrow-leaved flax plant, mottled grasshopper, meadow grasshopper, Moroccan grasshopper and bobbin” (2024), cotton and polyester thread on linen fabric, cotton batting, 168 x 140 centimeters

“Oak bench with white-tailed bumblebees, mallow flowers, dandelion flowers and snails” (2024), embroidery on cushion and oak, 60 x 146 x 66 centimeters

“Oak cabinet with woven loafer shoe and leg” (2024), oak, 155 x 65 x 56 centimeters

“Embroidered quilt with earthworms, cockchafer beetle larvae, dandelion plants, Brussels sprout plants, pe-tsaï cabbage plants, kohlrabi cabbage plants, striped shield bug, green bottle flies, cabbage white butterfly caterpillars, cauliflower cabbage plants, savoy cabbage plants, white-tailed bumblebee, cabbage white butterflies, ladybird beetle, red-tailed bumblebee, honey bee, sewing machine and overlocker machine” (2024), cotton and polyester thread on linen fabric, cotton batting, 194 x 248.5 centimeters

“Oak relief with cable stitch pull-over” (2024), oak, 117 x 112 x 9 centimeters

“Oak cabinet with courgettes and body fragments” (2024), oak, 155 x 89 x 70 centimeters

“Embroidered quilt with earthworms, cockchafer beetle larvae, false barley grass, red fescue grass, poppy plants, meadow fescue grass, English ryegrass, cinnabar moth caterpillar, giant peacock moth caterpillar, hebe tiger moth, death’s-head hawkmoth caterpillar, magpie moth, giant peacock moth, death’s-head hawkmoth, cinnabar moth, sparrow and recorder” (2024), cotton and polyester thread on linen fabric, cotton batting, 166.5 x 210 centimeters

“Embroidered quilt with earthworms, dandelion plant, clover plants, pea plant, beetroot plants, swallowtail butterfly caterpillar, 22 punctata beetle, ladybird beetle, honey bee, red-tailed bumblebee, white-tailed bumblebee, swallowtail butterfly, Parnassius apollo butterfly, Parnassius apollo butterfly caterpillar, desert cap, cap and work shoe” (2024), cotton and polyester thread on linen fabric, cotton batting, 166.5 x 194.5 centimeters

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Daniel Dewar and Grégory Gicquel Cultivate Connections Between Sculpture, Nature, and Craft appeared first on Colossal.

Have you ever sent a knit sweater through a dryer cycle and returned to find it a fraction of the size it once was? Well, think even smaller. Althea Crome’s incredibly detailed miniature sweaters didn’t shrink in a dryer but were instead created stitch by stitch with scrupulous dexterity over hundreds of hours.

The Indiana-based fiber artist began knitting in college and refined her skills by frequenting knitting shops. Crome was eager to learn new methods, and like many who are part of knitting communities, the artist was happily welcomed with advice, knowledge, and guidance. Mastering one technique meant moving onto another, and when it came to constantly challenging herself, Crome always rose to the occasion.

As time went on, she eventually found herself in the throes of micro-knitting. For Crome, there was something particularly stimulating and liberating about knitting small. Designing tiny garments and being able to knit them relatively quickly provided instant gratification. As she continued to create increasingly small and detailed pieces, her practice began to evolve.

“Starry Night”

In comparison to the average knit sweater that holds about four to eight stitches per inch, Crome has achieved a gauge of more than 80 stitches per inch, meticulously entwining extremely fine silk in different hues. For “Nativity II,” the artist blended over 70 individual colors of thread to achieve detailed shading effects.

Crome is inspired by iconic works such as Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” ancient Greek amphoras, and Warhol’s soup cans. Before starting each miniature garment, she first designs her own pattern, then she works underneath a high-powered magnifier, using minuscule knitting needles that she made herself from high-tensile-strength surgical steel.

“We’re always looking at other people’s art, trying to understand it,” Crome says. “Taking those images and working with a different medium, I just want to dig in further than my eyes. I want to dig in with my hands.” This way, the artist feels closer to the works that influence her, contemplating ideas for some time before testing new skills and bridging the gap between conceptual ideas and physical manifestation.

Find more of Crome’s work on her website.

“Starry Night”

“Ancient Greek Amphora I”

“Picasso, Woman in a Yellow Hat”

“Pop Art Cardigan”

“Nativity II”

“Sheep Farm” series

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Althea Crome’s Miniature Sweaters Test the Limits of Traditional Knitting appeared first on Colossal.