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“I describe it as being collage. I describe it as being assemblage. Mainly because I am using objects that are of the world. And with them being of the world, a lot of the characteristics of the material is retained. People have associations with those textures, with the colors, maybe in their own personal lives. And I think they bring some of that sense of sentimentality to the works when they’re in front of them.” — Tschabalala Self

One of the most closely watched rising young stars today is Tschabalala Self (b. 1990, New York), who just opened her largest exhibition to date at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. Tschabalala Self: Out of Body ran through September 7, 2020.

From the ICA Boston:

Tschabalala Self (b. 1990, Harlem, New York) creates large-scale figurative paintings that integrate hand-printed and found textiles, drawing, printmaking, sewing, and collage techniques to tell stories of urban life, the body, and humanity. The artist’s first Boston presentation—and her largest exhibition to date—will include a selection of paintings and sculptures that represent personal avatars, couplings, and everyday social exchanges inspired by urban life. Together, they articulate new expressions of embodiment and humanity through the exaggerated forms and exuberant textures of the human figure, pointing to its limitless capacity to represent imagined states, memories, aspirations, and emotions. Yet Self’s characters possess an ordinary grace grounded in reality: they are reflections of the artist or people she can imagine meeting in Harlem, her hometown.

In advance of the exhibition, the ICA/Boston visited Self in her studio where she spoke about her materials, process, inspiration, and the characters she depicts in the layered artworks she creates from fabric and thread.