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Suspended above reflective surface mimicking a dark body of water, “Distance” comprises large-scale crocheted sculptures.
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Cotton thread and foraged leaves converge in a study of strength and vulnerability.
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“Let’s Get Demonized (Instructional Polyhedron).” Photos by Jason Chen. All images courtesy of Caitlin McCormack, shared with permission
Tenderly Crocheted Sculptures by Caitlin McCormack Contend with Existential Dread
July 10, 2025
ArtCraft
Kate Mothes
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Caitlin McCormack is known for her crocheted, skeletal animals and otherworldly plants that nod to a speculative future in which the earth has endured environmental catastrophe. Motifs of skeletal baby birds and mammals read as cautionary tales about the human relationship with nature today and how much more disconnected—and disastrous—it could become.
Through crochet, with which we often associate domestic comfort and even quaintness, the artist channels a nostalgic medium to peer more closely at what we ignore in the present. Bundles of stones and knick-knacks encased in lacy fibers are complemented by skeletal specimens and strange botanical sculptures.
“Never Let the Party Die”
A new body of work that goes on view this weekend in There You Will Find the Stone at Harman Projects. The show includes a nebulous, blue wall sculpture titled “Earth Before Eyeballs Existed,” containing niches for tiny bundles of found objects. Pairing a slightly unnerving hue and a collection of tenderly crocheted packets, McCormack illuminates a reverence for tiny overlooked or discarded items.
Many of the titles of the artist’s pieces express a sense of dread, tension, or excess. A series of bundles titled They Come Back But They’re Never the Same and sculptures like “Don’t Let the Party Die” hint at a human crisis of control. “You Picked the Wrong One,” with a nest of unsettling, skeletal baby birds, brims with foreboding.
McCormack’s recent work emerges also from her attempts to process loss and illness in her family, including her own medical diagnoses. “These experiences have catalyzed a reevaluation of deep-rooted existential positions, specifically those grounded in skepticism, atheism, and a lifetime of anxiety,” she says in a statement. These pieces “serve as manifestations of an evolving worldview shaped by grief, loss, and an obsessive search for meaning.”
There You Will Find the Stone runs from July 12 to August 2 in New York City. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
“Earth Before Eyeballs Existed”
Detail of “Earth Before Eyeballs Existed”
“Milkvetch, How Much More Can They Hold”
Detail of “Milkvetch, How Much More Can They Hold”
“They Come Back But They’re Never the Same V”
“You Picked the Wrong One”
Detail of “You Picked the Wrong One”
Detail of “Never Let the Party Die”
“I Came Here to Try to Have a Good Time”
Detail of “I Came Here to Try to Have a Good Time”
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From the ‘Bruise’ series. All images courtesy of Gallery Nosco, shared with permission
Isabelle D’s Lush Crocheted Landscapes Intertwine Pain and Pleasure
May 6, 2025
ArtCraft
Grace Ebert
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At seven years old, Isabelle D learned to crochet as a means of supporting her family. Taking lessons from her grandmother, the young artist crafted various items to sell at local markets and set herself on a path she continues to follow today.
From silk, cotton, viscose, and other fibers, Isabelle D crochets innumerable forms evocative of coral, sea sponges, anemones, flowers, molds, spores, and more. Each work comprises a diverse array of sculptural pieces, which nest together in broad landscapes brimming with myriad colors and textures.
“A Officinalis”
The artist’s childhood ingenuity has instilled a commitment to care and resilience that appears both materially and metaphorically in her practice. In her new A Officinalis series, the medicinal, anti-inflammatory properties of the marshmallow plant become a symbol for healing and regeneration. Soft, supple forms in pale pinks and blues are met by fuzzy structures in creamy white yarn, creating a quiet, meditative garden for recovery.
Composed of vibrant reds and purples, the Bruise series takes a converse approach. Color is always critical to Isabelle D’s practice, and these works rely on vibrant, saturated reds, purples, and blues to mimic a damaged body. While the pieces evoke injury, they’re markedly beautiful and a sort of homage to the strength that emerges from trauma.
In the way that crochet requires an even tension to achieve stitches that aren’t too loose or too tight, Isabelle D strives for a similar balance in her practice and rejects the fast pace at which today’s world moves. Instead, she crafts each piece by hand without the help of assistants, immersing herself in the slow, methodical process of inserting the hook and looping it through the yarn.
If you’re in Brussels, stop by Gallery Nosco to see the artist’s solo exhibition, Hanging by a Thread, which runs through May 24.
From the ‘Bruise’ series
From the ‘Bruise’ series
Detail of “A Officinalis”
Detail of “A Officinalis”
Detail of “Mensonge et Vérité”
Detail of “Mensonge et Vérité”
“Mould”
From the ‘Bruise’ series
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All images © Stephane Aboudaram | we are content(s), shared with permission
Ernesto Neto Crochets an Enormous Snake to Slither Inside Le Bon Marché
January 31, 2025
Art
Grace Ebert
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“If Adam and Eve had not eaten the Divine Apple, they would still be in paradise, wouldn’t they? And us? Where would we be?” asks Ernesto Neto in relation to his latest project.
At Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche in Paris, the Brazilian artist (previously) presents his signature crocheted installations. A 28-foot snake coils up through the atrium for “Le La Serpent,” a monumental project evoking the creation myth of Adam, Eve, and the snake.
Rather than view the story from the perspective of sin, Neto chooses to see the animal as a life-giving force that transcends the Abrahamic story. Utilizing both male and female articles, the title positions the serpent as exceeding gender and instead as a joyful, spiritual force that can connect mind and body. The artist notes that many cultures, from Mesoamerica to Cambodian mythology to ancient Greek, viewed the serpent as god. Given that the Lunar New Year recently ushered in the Year of the Snake, the project also has a timely tie to Eastern traditions.
Although Neto frequently incorporates bold colors into his installations, the yarn in this project uses white to celebrate Aristide and Marguerite Boucicaut, the founders of Le Bon Marché who encouraged artists to use the color in their works in the 19th century.
A collaborative, meditative space awaits visitors on the second floor. Neto composed a song that plays throughout the room, while a large tee stands at the center. Dried leaves, turmeric, and cumin fill the trunk, adding an earthy, spiced scent to the air. The chalkboard-style walls are designed for visitors to draw and leave notes for future viewers.
“I want to remind people that they have a body—that they can feel it,” the artist said. “Scents activate memory and help us reconnect with our own essence.”
If you’re in Paris, see “Le La Serpent” through February 22.
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