Sheila Hicks: Secret Structures, Looming Presence

Fiber arts by artist, designer, and weaver Sheila Hicks (b. 1934) will be exhibited in the DMA’s Atrium Overlook and in the Arts of the Americas Andean gallery in a special exhibition illuminating how the contemporary artist’s practice has been inspired by the weaving traditions of indigenous artisans from Latin America. Sheila Hicks: Secret Structures, Looming Presence pairs works from the Museum’s collection of ancient Andean art with a selection of Hicks’ loom-woven, wrapped, twisted, and knotted fiberworks, offering a fresh examination of textile traditions through time.

Born in Nebraska and based in Paris since 1964, over the course of her six-decade career Hicks has lived and worked extensively in Mexico, Peru, Chile, and other countries in South America and around the world. Hicks became interested in ancient Andean art as a student at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture, where she researched ancient Andean textiles for her master’s thesis.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website