Narrative Threads

Donald Clay Johnson first traveled to India in 1966 to visit friends Nootan and Shailesh Parekh in Ahmedabad, the largest city in the western state of Gujarat. A further 28 trips followed, each building his wide network of friends, advisors, and fellow scholars as well as his greatly admired collection of South Asian textiles.

This exhibition, the third organized by the Goldstein Museum of Design from Dr. Johnson’s collection, focuses on embroidery and the transformation of textiles into familial and community treasures by the artful addition of hand-sewn threads. The geographical focus includes Northwest India and present-day Pakistan, the region at the center of Dr. Johnson’s collecting activities and known for its diversity and richness of embroidery techniques.

The installation is organized around distinct types of embroidery, including historical examples (1880s–1980s) of soof, phulkari, ralli, zardozi, and mirror work traditions. Embroidery’s complex relationship to the region’s past and future is evident in the variety of stitches, colors, patterns and garments used to establish visual languages and identities within shifting contexts of colonialism, geopolitics, and consumer demand.

Throughout, textiles are presented alongside print materials from the Ames Library of South Asia here at the University of Minnesota where, as librarian from 1987–2008, Dr. Johnson amassed impressive public resources. Their numerous voices and images enhance the stories deftly stitched in thread. 

For more information and related events check out the Goldstein Gallery website here.

Gallery Hours:
Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Sunday & Monday, closed