Elaine Reichek

Gallery 2

Elaine Reichek’s Swatches were originally conceived and produced in 2006–07 as part of the project Pattern Recognition. Reichek began by shopping for images of iconic art works on Google. Each image was then simplified into a vector file, reduced to a palette of two to seven colors and programmed for a digital sewing machine. The final embroidered icon has zigzag edges, as though it had been cut with pinking shears, like the fabric swatches long a staple of the textile industry. Employing a combination of digital and mechanical production, these densely stitched badges of uniform size and shape return the artworks on which they are based to much earlier fabric-based traditions of pattern and design.