Zane Bennett Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, presents "Lucid Perturbations: The Sewn Drawings and Books of China Marks," the first major solo exhibition dedicated to the artist's sewn works. Featuring over 200 pieces from the last 23 years of Marks's practice, the show runs from May 15 to July 11 and includes pieces like "At the Winter Palace" (2018) and "Above and Below" (2022). Marks, who pivoted from painting to sewing at age 59 in 2000, creates fabric-based narrative tableaux that blend personal and political themes.
This exhibition matters because it offers the broadest public survey of Marks's sewn oeuvre, bringing a previously private body of work into the spotlight. Her unique technique of sewing as drawing challenges traditional boundaries between craft and fine art, while her imagery—inverting Western tropes to address racialized violence, geopolitical conflict, and human relationships—provides a timely, emotionally resonant commentary on contemporary issues. The show underscores the growing recognition of textile-based art within the contemporary art world.