January 19 - April 22, 2017

Rubin Gallery

Teresa Margolles: We Have a Common Thread expands on the artist’s long exploration of violence through a series of new works involving the unprecedented participation of artist-embroiderers from Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States, all of whom share her concerns about violence, particularly against women. After explaining her vision for the project, Margolles provided each group with a fabric that had been marked through contact with the body of a woman, or in some cases a man, who had suffered a violent death. She invited the embroiderers to create patterns on the fabric as a way to trigger a conversation about the violence and social problems plaguing their respective communities. Some of these conversations were recorded and are included here in a series of videos providing context for the textiles. Teresa Margolles: We Have a Common Thread is organized by the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, SUNY, and has an important connection to the borderland, most particularly in relation to the violence experienced by Ciudad Juarez in recent decades, peaking in the period from 2009-2012. The exhibition will be complemented by an interdisciplinary speakers series exploring violence, trauma and social memory.

Teresa Margolles: We Have a Common Thread is organized by the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, SUNY, and curated by Patrice Giasson, the Alex Gordon Associate Curator of the Art of the Americas. Generous support for this exhibition has been provided by the Alex Gordon Estate. Additional support has been provided by the Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art and by the Purchase College Foundation.

Additional support for the Rubin Center venue was provided by the Texas Commission on the Arts and The Gifford Foundation.