Manhattan – ACA Galleries in the Chelsea neighborhood has opened a new solo show by artist Kandy G. Lopez titled Taking Up Space. The exhibition features a series of large‑scale fiber portraits that, from a distance, resemble traditional paintings but reveal intricate yarn work up close.
Yarn as a Painting Medium
Lopez explains that she wanted viewers to feel as if the subjects were looking directly at them. “I want you to be in a room where all the subjects are staring at you,” she said. The works are constructed on hook‑rug mesh, with yarn strategically placed to form facial features. “The shape of the eyes is a perfect guide to moving down and across the face,” Lopez noted, adding that any deviation in eye shape disrupts the likeness.
From Paintbrush to Yarn
Although the current pieces are made of fiber, Lopez’s artistic foundation is in painting. She grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey, and began painting in middle school, working primarily with watercolors. “It was a way of teaching us a way to see light and how to see texture and reflection,” she recalled, noting how those lessons inform her present practice.
Celebrating People of Color
The portraits depict real individuals of color whom Lopez describes as having “swag” or a magical presence. She intentionally created the works on a monumental scale—some measuring up to 14 feet tall—to echo the awe‑inspiring paintings found in European churches. “You go to Europe and see these beautiful paintings in churches, and they are massive, and as a visitor you’re looking up at it, and that’s what I want for people of color,” she said.
Community Support and Personal Reflection
Lopez, a mother of two and an associate professor of Art and Design in Florida, expressed gratitude for the response to her work. “It’s been a pinch‑me moment, so I think a lot about being blessed, ancestral energy, very, very thankful,” she said.
She also incorporates donated yarn into her pieces, often receiving contributions from strangers. “I’ll get like grandma’s or great‑grandma’s yarn, so I have given this yarn a new life,” Lopez explained.
Exhibition Details
Taking Up Space will be on view at ACA Galleries, 525 West 22nd Street, Chelsea, through October 24. For additional information, visit the gallery’s website.
Original reporting: Brookhaven News – ABC7 New York — read the source article.
