"Harnessing the power of empathy, Bisa Butler presents a tender, evocative suite of new works in her current exhibition, Hold Me Close. The artist is known for her chromatic, multi-patterned quilted artworks exploring Black history, identity, and craft traditions. Her elaborate pieces combine materials like printed cotton, silk, sequins, beads, and velvet to create both large-scale tapestries and intimate vignettes."
"The work in Hold Me Close centers around the need for mutual respect, love, and togetherness in a society that has become increasingly factious. "This body of work is a visual response to how I am feeling as an African American woman living in 2025," Butler says in a statement for the show. Deeply moved by our current era of division and violence, in which hard-won civil rights are being challenged and overturned, she taps in the past to shed light on our current moment."
Bisa Butler’s Hold Me Close features quilted, mixed-media portraits that emphasize empathy, mutual respect, love, and togetherness amid social division. The works combine printed cotton, silk, sequins, beads, and velvet into large-scale tapestries and intimate vignettes. Imagery draws from photographers Gordon Parks, Jean Depara, and Gerald Cyrus, along with references to Faith Ringgold and Kerry James Marshall, highlighting everyday Black life and historical struggle. The pieces render figures in vibrant patterns and textures that foreground expressions and interactions. The body of work functions as a visual diary and refuge, connecting past photographic documentation to contemporary challenges to civil rights.
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