Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
Helen Mirra (American, b. 1970)
Embroidered Grid, 2000
Cotton thread on paper
Collection of DePaul Art Museum, gift of Barbara and Tom Ruben
2016.140
Helen Mirra is a conceptual artist whose works address themes from mapping and geometry to childhood and nostalgia. She works in various media, but is known for her textile-based objects. The artist describes herself as a “walking experiment,” endeavoring to meet her materials en route.
The hand sewn thread lines in Embroidered Grid mirror the perfect imperfections that one finds in nature, while also conjuring the forms of human-made plots of land. Described by one critic as having a “hand-made folksy materiality,” Mirra’s textiles, here in earth-toned green with a grid motif, elicit connections to both the natural environment and Minimalist art.