Lillian Blades' first solo exhibition, "Through the Veil," is on view at the Sarasota Art Museum (SAM) through October 26. The Bahamian-born artist presents large, quilt-like mixed-media installations made from found objects such as toys, jewelry, utensils, and mirrors, wired together and hung from PVC piping. Her work is displayed on the museum's third floor, while a concurrent exhibition of Gee's Bend quilts occupies the second floor, creating a thematic dialogue between the two shows.
This exhibition matters because it introduces a wider audience to Blades' distinctive practice, which blends personal history—her mother's death, her father's plumbing trade, and her Bahamian heritage—with broader narratives of the African diaspora, memory, and improvisational craft traditions. By placing her work alongside the historically significant Gee's Bend quilts, the museum highlights the ongoing evolution of Black women's textile art and its recognition within contemporary art institutions.