Michelle Kingdom’s Embroidery Art is Timeless

Embroidery art dates to the 5th–3rd century BC in China. Ancient Greek mythology has credited Athena with passing down the art of embroidery along with weaving. Considered a traditional pastime, recent decades have seen a return to embroidery, with some contemporary embroiders elevating what was once considered a craft into a recognized form of art.

Michelle Kingdom is one of those contemporary embroiders. Using a thread as a sketching tool, Kingdom simultaneously honors and undermines the tradition of embroidery. “My approach to the work is intuitive and there is an ongoing,” she shared with Textile Artist, “In organic technical dialogue throughout the process. While honoring the richness of tradition, I also try to refresh and bring renewed relevance to the medium.”

Her work includes elaborate scenes, exploring the relationship between people and memory, identity and history. As such, Kingdom relies on symbolism and allegory, as she lays bare dynamics of aspiration and limitation.

According to Kingdom, her love of embroidery can be traced back to her childhood. Growing up in a sewing family, she taught herself embroidery as a way of honoring this ancient practice. Having first studied fine art in college, she found herself gravitating towards textile art, though it took her some time to find her artistic voice.

“Back then the art scene felt like an exclusive, closed world,” she says. “Serious work was oversized, relentlessly ironic, coldly conceptual and impossibly clever. I never imagined there would be any place there for me.”

Now based in LA, these days her work speaks for itself. Scroll down to see some recent highlights.