Massive tapestries fill the walls of the American Contemporary Art (ACA) Galleries with subjects within them jutting out from pale backgrounds carefully woven with bold colored yarn. They stare toward the viewer from above, chins raised as if posing for a photograph. Through colorful, confident portrayals, Afro-Caribbean American artist Kandy G. Lopez positions her subjects to command space and insist on being seen.
Adorning her subjects with meticulous details and intimately interweaving them with one another in “Textile Truths: Faces of Resilience,” Lopez depicts the resilience that stems from collective pride and cultural representation with communities of color, focusing on the bonds that sustain it. Weaving and embroidery become a metaphor for the vital networks that communities of color cultivate to support one another.
Lopez’s second solo show, the exhibition includes over 20 artworks highlighting her signature “fiber painting” technique that involves covering hook mesh canvas — a firm fabric grid used as a base for weaving — with acrylic or spray paint and weaving her subjects in with yarn. The background colors and scenes are semi-transparent and simple, a style Lopez was drawn to as a painter before turning to textile art.
Textile-based craft has historically been associated with communities of color, such as Indigenous groups across the South Pacific, Africa and the Carribean. Through handweaving, Lopez shares her cultural heritage, which is often left out of Western art history.
One of Lopez’s most striking pieces is “City Boys.” A simple landscape composed of green grass and a blue sky stretches across the opening wall, acting as a backdrop for the seven men woven across its surface. The subjects stand tall before the horizon line with their colorful attire and shaded, dark skin deeply contrasting the pale background, resembling a flash photograph. They sport smug, attentive stares, with eyes peering out beneath graphic snapbacks and shiny eyewear. Casual and confident, several of the men lean into one another while others have their hands nudged comfortably into their pockets. Lopez weaves in small details, from wristwatches to tattoos and Nike logos.
Its sister image, “City Girls,” hangs in the second room of the gallery featuring seven female subjects clustered between tall, spiked grass and palm trees which are topographical references to Lopez’s Caribbean heritage. The women pose confidently with wide stances, hands on hips and chins raised, dressed in loud attire, from laced boots to rainbow skirts and floor-length shawls. Again, Lopez focuses on individual details, including arm bands, golden earrings and colorful hair pieces, making the figures appear hyperrealistic. One woman occupies the center frame, wearing turquoise glasses and a multicolored dress that casts a train on the ground. Squatting beneath her peers with a model-like pose and fierce gaze, the woman appears incredibly proud, inviting viewers not only to look, but to admire. Interconnectedness anchors the works as a central theme, embedded within the subjects and the medium.
With modern appearance and casual mannerisms and poses, the figures appear as everyday individuals taken from the context of their daily lives. Stitching her subjects colossal and with bold saturation, Lopez makes the viewer hyperaware of their presence, not only documenting, but presenting them with glory. Lopez emphasizes the importance of recognition for communities often underrepresented in media and art. She urges viewers to acknowledge and respect their likeness within a predominantly white, male-dominated art world.
Bringing the viewer closer to each detailed figure, the exhibition encourages recognition of each subject’s individuality. By connecting them through the casual, platonic intimacy of a group pose or an arm draped over a shoulder, the work also emphasizes the strength of the bonds they share. The pieces convey the role of a community-driven collective in empowering marginalized people. Lopez’s work stands out in its insistence on recognition, not only for underrepresented art forms in the Western world, but for the communities of color that create and sustain them.
“Textile Truths: Faces of Resilience” is on view at ACA Galleries until Jan. 17, 2026.
Contact Siena Bergamo at arts@nyunews.com.
