7 Artists on Soft Sculptures: Why Artists Turn to Textile



”With so many hard things that we touch and live in, we’re crying for softness.” Sheila Hicks, Nick Cave, Kaarina Kaikkonen, and four other acclaimed artists reflect on how working with textiles has shaped their practice.

“Every knot has a breath,” says Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto, whose immersive sculptures in cotton invite a sensory escape from everyday reality. American artist Nick Cave describes his work as “figurative sculptural,” where textiles and discarded materials suggest a “second skin” that conceals gender, race, and class.

For Finnish artist Kaarina Kaikkonen, second-hand shirts carry a sense of intimacy and memory. After losing her father as a child, she recalls: “I wanted to wear his clothes around me.” Similarly, Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota uses dresses as stand-ins for the body, with threads tracing the invisible connections between humans.

The video also features Dutch artist Claudy Jongstra and Icelandic artist Shoplifter.

Interviews: Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen, Marc-Christoph Wagner, Jonas Hjorth, Jarl Therkelsen Kaldan, Stinna Toft Hald, Sean Hanley and Anders Mørch.
Camera: Mark Nickels, Rasmus Quistgaard, Jonas Hjorth and Anders Mørch.
Produced and edited by Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2026
Louisiana Channel is supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond.

Subscribe to our channel for more videos on art: https://www.youtube.com/thelouisianachannel

FOLLOW US HERE:
Website: http://channel.louisiana.dk
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/louisianachannel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LouisianaChannel

source

UCY2mhw-XNZSxrUynsI5K8Zw

Save This Post
Please login to bookmark Close