Embellished Photographs by Maurizio Anzeri
Found photographs are altered with surreal swirling and geometric patterns in embroidered works by Maurizio Anzeri. Some of the embellishments look like strange headpieces or masks, while others spiral like vortices out of the subjects’ eyes, adding an extra dimension almost like that which could be seen through a haze of psychedelic drugs.
Cross-Stitched Fashion Ads by Inge Jacobsen
A fashion campaign for a Danish jeweler is reworked in cross-stitch by artist Inge Jacobsen, with weight photographs transformed into a mashup of modern realism and soft, vintage-looking embroidery. Certain elements, like a chrome teapot and the jewelry that is the focus of the campaign, are left unstitched so they gleam strangely against the tactile qualities of the thread.
Life-Sized Embroidered Tapestry Sculptures by Frederique Morrel
A life-sized skeletal rider on a horse is covered in embroidered tapestries by French company Frédérique Morrel. If the imagery seems like a bizarre unrelated patchwork of the classical and the kitsch, that’s because it’s made up of found embroidery from discarded tapestries.
Amazingly Intricate Embroidered Portraits by Cayce Zavaglia
Thousands of the tiniest stitches, far smaller than most brush strokes, come together into hyper-realistic portraits by Cayce Zavaglia. Typically working in paint, the artist translates the same visual qualities using crewel embroidery wool, criss-crossing threads of certain tones to mimic the mixing of paint to create a new shade. Turn the portrait over to view the underside and you’ll find what seem like mirror portraits done in an abstract, modern style.
