A new solo exhibition by artist Kandy G. Lopez is on display at ACA Galleries in Chelsea, featuring large-scale fiber portraits that challenge viewers to see their subjects in a new way.
"I want you to be in a room where all the subjects are staring at you," Lopez said.
The exhibit, titled Taking Up Space, features portraits that from a distance appear to be paintings. A closer look reveals the works are made of yarn strategically placed on hook rug mesh.
"I think the shape of the eyes is a perfect guide to moving down and across the face, so if the eye shape is not correct, it's not going to look like the person," Lopez said.
Although her current work centers on fiber, Lopez said her background is in painting.
"I don't know how to weave or sew or crochet or any of the 'ers' that have to do with fiber; I know how to paint," she said.
Originally from Bayonne, New Jersey, Lopez learned to paint in middle school, where she worked with watercolors, an experience that later influenced her current artistic practice.
"It was a way of teaching us a way to see light and how to see texture and reflection," she said.
The portraits depict real people of color whom Lopez said have "swag" or something magical about them. The works are intentionally oversized.
"You go to Europe and see these beautiful paintings in churches, and they are massive, and as a visitor you're looking up at it, and that's what I want for people of color," Lopez said.
The pieces in Taking Up Space are her largest to date, measuring up to 14 feet. Lopez, a mother of two and an associate professor of Art and Design in Florida, said the success of her work has been humbling.
"It's been a pinch-me moment, so I think a lot about being blessed, ancestral energy, very, very thankful," she said.
Lopez also incorporates donated yarn into her artwork. According to the report, strangers sometimes reach out and send yarn for her projects.
"I'll get like grandma's or great-grandma's yarn, so I have given this yarn a new life," Lopez said.
The Taking Up Space exhibition is on view at ACA Galleries in Chelsea through Oct. 24.
