About
Delaina Doshi, a Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist, reimagines textiles through a fusion of tesserae, assemblage, and archival techniques, exploring narratives of personal heritage and material culture inspired by her rural Midwestern upbringing and experiences married to a first-generation Indian American. Her rich alternative tapestries have been exhibited nationally and internationally, with her recent work Reconciled winning Best in Show at the 2023 Evanston + Vicinity Biennial. Doshi earned her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2023 and is a recipient of the prestigious Helen Frankenthaler Award.
Artist Statement
My artistic practice is rooted in fiber techniques, elaborating on traditional processes while delving into the conceptual and historical contexts that shape them. Through my work, I deconstruct and reimagine my past and future self and family, intricately weaving together my diverse experiences as an ex-vangelical Daughter of the American Revolution raised in the rural Midwest, now married to a first-generation Indian American, nurturing a daughter amidst the intersections of those worlds.
My current body of work began as an examination of my upbringing in the evangelical milieu of "purity culture," where the church used a pervasive metaphor likening virginity to a porcelain plate. I was taught that engaging in sex outside of marriage would irreparably devalue me—I would shatter and never be whole again. This image was deeply traumatic for me and many others who were raised in the coercive and debasing religious environment perpetuated by purity culture.
My work begins with an archive of found and gifted crockery. Each item holds its own history, which I endeavor to document. (However, some stories remain opaque, inviting viewers to engage their imagination.)
Deliberately selecting from my collection, I smash the pottery—an echo of the shattered saucer and a reclamation of my personhood and sexuality. Then, through meticulous piecework and hand-stitching, I combine the shards into alternative textiles, forming tesserae quilts. This transformative process explores broader themes of material culture, diaspora, and the universal struggle of reconciling complex emotions towards individuals and environments that once caused harm.