A close look at a batik textile by Indonesian artist Dudung Alie Syahbana, whose work will join other global artists at a new exhibit at Bethesda's Amy Kaslow Gallery starting Feb. 5.

A close look at a batik textile by Indonesian artist Dudung Alie Syahbana, whose work will join that of other global artists at a new exhibit at Bethesda’s Amy Kaslow Gallery starting Thursday. (Amy Kaslow Gallery)
Amy Kaslow and her team spent more than three years curating an exhibit of massive textiles from around the world that will swallow her Bethesda gallery starting Thursday.

“It’s refreshing to know every corner of the world has something to unearth,” Kaslow said.

The exhibit, “Textiles That Talk,” is part of Amy Kaslow Gallery’s “Folk Art Is Fine Art” series and runs through April 5. Kaslow and her team will feature artists from Thailand, Kurdistan and Guatemala, among other nations.

For Kaslow, it was essential to span the globe to find common threads in the stories that artists tell through textiles.

“First and foremost, they were created by someone who was carrying on a message, a mythology from years and years ago,” Kaslow said.

Standout pieces in the exhibit include Indonesian artist Dudung Alie Syahbana’s batik textile, works from the Caucasus and a piece from Thailand that invites a close inspection.

“It’s a big, big-ass piece of milk-washed, handspun cotton,” Kaslow said. “Embroidered on this piece are many tens of thousands of white, perfectly embroidered ants in a remarkable colony. You’ve gotta see it to believe it.”

Read more in The Baltimore Banner

Tags: Arts & Culture, Food and drink, Things to do, Lifestyle, Music Arts Travel