Exhibitions

Sheila Hicks: Material Matters

London, United Kingdom

Sheila Hicks brings her monumental textile architecture to Shanghai, where raw fibers and vibrant threads redefine the museum's spatial limits.

Installation view, Material Matters

Image credit

Installation view, Material Matters: Sheila Hicks & Shi Hui, West Bund Museum 2026. © Alessandro Wang

Meet the artist

Sheila Hicks

The Movement

Contemporary Art, Textile

ArtLovers Tip

Look for the smaller 'minimes'—tiny, loom-woven compositions that Hicks creates as personal diaries; they offer a quiet, intimate counterpoint to her massive installations.

Exhibition Highlights - What you'll see

Sheila Hicks has spent decades elevating the humble thread into something structural and sacred. Her practice bridges the gap between ancient weaving traditions and contemporary sculpture, proving that material is not just a medium, but a vessel for memory and tactile intelligence. This exhibition in Shanghai showcases how her soft interventions can hold their own against the city's concrete scale.

You're watching a landscape of saturated color and organic form. Gigantic cascades of wool drop from the ceiling, inviting you to perceive the weight and gravity of the textiles. The light filters through tangled nests of silk and linen, casting shadows that shift as you move through these pliable monuments, making the vast museum interior feel intimate and alive.

Worth the trip

  • Textile monumentalism: Experience how Hicks transforms soft, pliable materials into towering sculptures that challenge the rigid geometry of the West Bund Museum.
  • Global resonance: Witness a dialogue between Hicks's nomadic artistic heritage and the modern industrial backdrop of Shanghai's evolving art corridor.
  • The tactile turn: Engage with works that prioritize the physical sensation of touch and material presence in an increasingly digital world.

How to experience it

Move slowly between the hanging installations, paying attention to how the air in the gallery causes the fibers to sway ever so slightly. After leaving the museum, walk along the Huangpu River to contrast Hicks's organic, hand-worked surfaces with the glass and steel skyline of the West Bund.

London, United Kingdom

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