Everydayness

Textile Investigations in Contemporary Art: Kari Steihaug and Hanne Friis

Abstract

Textiles figure prominently in the international contemporary art world. What used to be marginalized as craft, ethnic, and women’s work, now holds a mainstream position in art exhibitions. When framed in the context of high-art, however, textiles can still pose “creative tensions” with their somatic and semiotic mundane connotations. Based on the analysis of two solo exhibitions in 2022 by the Norwegian textile artists, Kari Steihaug, The Potato Bucket and the Perfume, and Hanne Friis, Circulation, the article argues for a strategy of “everydayness”. 

By adopting the concept of “everydayness” from the French philosopher Henri Lefèbvre the text discusses how Steihaug’s and Friis’ use of repetitive rhythms of specific textile fabrics and techniques plays out creative tensions in the fine-art institution. With the focus on rhythm and repetition, the article contributes to the renewed scholarly interest in textile art and ongoing discussions of feminist challenges of traditional art historical categories of craft and high-art.