Rattan sticks painted black and woven together with thread arc between the “heads” of two weavings like a sci-fi brain-swap tube, facilitating a transfer of knowledge between mother and daughter. The effigies hang next to each other on the gallery wall. Rake and broom heads, trowel arms, kitchen funnel breasts and fruit bowl wombs peek out behind strands woven from store-bought yarn, shower curtain rings, metal washers, and toy soldiers. This mother-daughter pair, Family Lineage 1 (2019) welcomes the viewer into Anne Samat’s first solo show in the US, Greatest Love. Samat’s six unorthodox weavings, depicting three generations of her family members, hang in an upstairs loft the size of a two car garage. She made the work near the museum, during a three month residency, using a combination of materials she brought from Kuala Lampur and pieces she found in stores around Peekskill, NY where the museum is located. Samat’s weavings are grounded in traditional Malaysian techniques, but her use of readymade objects and three dimensions make her work closer kin to Jeffrey Gibson and Nick Cave than craft textile tapestries.

by John Cappetta