May’s exhibitions share a preoccupation with what holds—and what doesn’t. Across the region, artists test the limits of structure, whether in textile and thread, systems of authorship, or the fragile architectures of memory and identity. Materials carry meaning: hair that catches light, fabric that encodes contradiction, photographs that fix fleeting moments, paintings that refuse resolution. Even the act of looking gets unsettled, slipping into touch, taste, and immersion. If there’s a throughline, it’s a resistance to singular narratives—toward something more distributed, more unstable, and closer to lived experience, where meaning is layered, negotiated, and always in flux.
“Surface, Structure, String” at Hudson Hall in Hudson
May 8-June 12
“Surface, Structure, String” surveys the region’s thriving textile scene, from intricate embroidery to large-scale fiber installations. Curated by Richard Saja, the group show with notable regional artists like Portia Munson and Laleh Khoramian treats textiles as both material and language—exploring tension, repetition, and memory—while highlighting artists who are pushing the medium into conceptual, socially engaged terrain.