Fashion but make it art – ICA unveils a handcrafted silk scarf featuring artwork by Firelei Báez

(Boston, MA—APRIL 18, 2024) In celebration of artist Firelei Báez’s first North American museum survey, the ICA Store has collaborated with the artist to create a unique, handcrafted silk scarf featuring one of Báez’s signature map paintings, Untitled (Temple of Time) (2020).

Báez’s exuberant, colorful paintings feature complex and layered uses of pattern, decoration, and abstract gestures alongside symbols rooted in Caribbean culture. In Untitled (Temple of Time), Báez overlays brightly hued, painterly gestures onto a chronological chart of world history entitled “The Temple of Time” (1846).

Crafted from sustainably sourced, 100% mulberry silk, the scarf has been fabricated in partnership with New York-based studio Lost Pattern. Measuring 65cm x 65cm (26″ W x 26″ L), the scarf may be worn in various styles, such as a headband, neck scarf, or even a top.

The scarf retails at $85.00 ($76.50 for ICA Members) and will be available exclusively from the ICA Store or online at icastore.org at the end of April.

About the exhibition

On view at the ICA through Sept. 2, Firelei Báez is the first North American museum survey dedicated to the richly layered work of Firelei Báez (b. 1981, Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic). One of the most exciting painters of her generation, Báez delves into the historical narratives of the Atlantic basin. Over the past fifteen years, she has made work that explores the multilayered legacy of colonial histories and the African diaspora in the Caribbean and beyond. She draws on the disciplines of anthropology, geography, folklore, fantasy, science fiction, and social history to unsettle categories of race, gender, and nationality in her paintings, drawings, and installations. Her exuberant paintings feature finely wrought, complex, and layered uses of pattern, decoration, and saturated color, often overlaid on maps made during colonial rule in the Americas. Báez’s investment in the medium of painting and its capacity for storytelling and mythmaking informs all her work, including her sculptural installations, which bring this quality into three dimensions. This exhibition offers audiences a timely opportunity to gain a holistic understanding of Báez’s complex and profoundly moving body of work, cementing her as one of the most important artists of the early 21st century. More information about the exhibition is available here.

About the ICA

Since its founding in 1936, the ICA has shared the pleasures of reflection, inspiration, imagination, and provocation that contemporary art offers with its audiences. A museum at the intersection of contemporary art and civic life, the ICA has advanced a bold vision for amplifying the artist’s voice and expanding the museum’s role as educator, incubator, and convener. Its exhibitions, performances, and educational programs provide access to the breadth and diversity of contemporary art, artists, and the creative process, inviting audiences of all ages and backgrounds to participate in the excitement of new art and ideas. The ICA is located at 25 Harbor Shore Drive, Boston, MA, 02210. The Watershed is located at 256 Marginal Street, East Boston, MA 02128. For more information, call 617-478-3100 or visit our website at icaboston.org. Follow the ICA on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Theresa Romualdez, [email protected]