In her ongoing series of Chenille paintings (2016–present), Harmony Hammond incorporates rough burlap and grommets into her signature layers of thick paint, suggesting the soft texture and domestic warmth of bedspreads. Chenille experts, like quilters, share an undervalued history of needlework and similar technique of puncturing fabric from the backside. In Hammond’s collaged and layered paintings, the chenille reference is visual—performed by paint and other materials on the surface of the canvas—rather than by needle and thread.
