Complex and Captivating Thread Artworks Crafted with a Sewing Machine Acting as a Paintbrush

“Intrepidus”: An Expedition into Chris Roberts-Antieau’s Thread Illustrations

Painting is typically considered to involve pigments, like acrylics and oils. However, this is not true for Chris Roberts-Antieau. As a trailblazer in machine embroidery and its capabilities, she labels her main collection as “thread illustrations,” employing thread and fabric appliqué to craft her intricate designs. These works encompass a variety of themes, from astonishing real-life narratives to her personal insights on nature, reality, truth, and perception. Each piece is connected by her distinctive combination of stylized shapes and thread as a means to add depth to otherwise flat artwork.

From a distance, observing Roberts-Antieau’s tapestries, it’s difficult to accept that they are works of fiber art. The precision she attains with a domestic Bernina sewing machine is remarkable. The details in her pieces are constructed using countless machine stitches, varied in a manner that creates texture and design.

In Intrepidus, for example, the texture of the figure’s skin appears three-dimensional, aided in part by the application of tiny, consistent stitches that shape and define the cut fabric. The tiger’s fur is treated in a similar fashion, yet with greater intricacy. Each stitch functions like a brushstroke, and Roberts-Antieau has layered colors and thread orientation to evoke the sensation of the animal’s splendid fur patterns.

Roberts-Antieau has enjoyed a long career, and her work can be found in public collections across the United States and with elite private collectors, including Oprah, Mindy Kaling, and John Malkovich. However, before embarking on her artistic journey, her sense of creativity and wonder was nurtured by a lively family environment. Roberts-Antieau candidly admits that she struggled in school. She failed ninth grade and was not advised to go to college. “But,” she expresses, “I had parents who were expansive thinkers. We engaged in discussions every evening at the dinner table. We were taught to think critically. Both had a tremendous sense of humor.”

“I recall more than once when my mother had to stop the car because she was laughing so hard,” Roberts-Antieau adds. “They also possessed a penchant for creative spontaneous joy. It was common for my father to return home from work, load us all into the back of the station wagon, and drive off with no particular destination.” This certainly shaped her artistic evolution as she aimed to carve out her own paths.

Keep up with the artist—including her charming bulldog, Kevin—on Chris Roberts-Antieau’s Instagram.

Fiber artist Chris Roberts-Antieau produces thread illustrations using fabric appliqué and her sewing machine to generate intricate tapestries.

Roberts-Antieau has galleries in New Orleans, Santa Fe, and Carmel-by-the-Sea, where her team regularly showcases their favorite works and the reasons behind their choices.

Chris Roberts-Antieau: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Noah Antieau.

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