Printer Katherine Kuehn explores words with fabric as matrix and thread as ink in this selection of sewn works by the Portland, Oregon–based artist. Her interest in the thoughtful placement of text may be traced to her extensive experience in letterpress printing and instruction from her grandmother, who taught Kuehn to embroider tea towels.
The exhibition includes thirty-five linen napkins, each embroidered with an excerpt from correspondence from Nelly Sachs (1891–1970), recipient of the 1966 Nobel Prize for Literature, to the German-speaking poet Paul Celan (1920–1970). Their correspondence lasted from 1954 until their deaths.
Also on view are two pieces featuring Paean to Place by Wisconsin poet Lorine Niedecker. Words are embroidered onto a thirty-foot, indigo-dyed scroll and fifteen smaller panels. Other pieces include poems sewn onto ribbon that is wound onto spindles, and a series of ribbons embroidered with selections from the journals of Henry David Thoreau.