bodies and souls, Tapestry, University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S State St, University of Michigan, October 3, 2023
Year
2023
Month
October
Day
3
Suchitra Mattai, bodies and souls, 2021: Suchitra Mattai (b. 1973, American, born in Guyana) explores the ways in which history, culture, and prescribed gender roles are shaped by legacies of colonialism. Her complex works of art, which often combine painting, found objects, textile, embroidery, weaving, and video, embrace her own familial experiences and challenge formal Western accounts of history. bodies and souls, one of several large-scale tapestry works the artist created in 2021, is comprised of a vivid patchwork of found and collected shalwar kameez and sari suspended within a vintage, partially broken gilded frame. The installation is envisioned to connect South Asian diasporic communities through time and place. bodies and souls is the first work by Mattai to enter UMMA’s collection and joins other recent acquisitions by contemporary women artists, including those by Chitra Ganesh, Sonya Clark, Ayana V. Jackson, Ishiuchi Miyako, Ming Smith, and Stephanie Syjuco. This purchase was made possible by the UMMA Director’s Acquisition Committee.