Thread of Abstraction A Comparative Study of Italian and International Textile Artists

Curator Ginevra de Blasio’s lecture, “Thread of Abstraction: A Comparative Study of Italian and International Textile Artists,” presents a year-long Italian Council-funded research project exploring textiles beyond materiality. Abstraction becomes a framework for understanding textiles as metaphors shaping human existence. The lecture traces textiles from mythological origins to contemporary art, comparing practices across cultures rather than following linear history. Despite transformations through fashion, computation, and digital systems, textiles retain enduring principles of time, touch, and repetition. In an increasingly screen-driven world, these practices emphasize slowness, embodiment, and connection, ultimately guiding humanity back toward a deeper awareness of itself once more.