Gallery Art Motif is currently hosting The Art of the Weaver, a solo exhibition by renowned Japanese textile artist Chiaki Maki. Open since January 24, the exhibition will run until February 28, offering visitors the chance to experience Maki’s intricate handwoven textiles.
Maki’s artistry, which blends her intimate connection with nature and traditional textile-making techniques, is showcased through her exquisite works created with natural fibres like Mulberry silk, Basho (banana fibre), and Choma (ramie). The textiles are dyed with organic materials such as indigo, pomegranate, and charcoal, reflecting a fusion of heritage, sustainability, and innovation.
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Featured in the exhibition are works from her Yuragi (waves) and Tsunagi (jointing) series, where Maki explores the meditative rhythm of weaving as a spiritual process. Through a meticulous hand-reeling technique, she captures the organic “waves” formed during the silk cocooning process, offering viewers both visual and tactile connections to the natural world.
“My textile making is not only for expression, but it’s made by living products and playing with them in my favourite way. My dream was to plough the land and cultivate plants for fibres, colours, and food… and now I’ve been doing it for about 10 years,” Maki says, reflecting on her journey.
Chiaki Maki, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, has been a significant figure in the textile arts since the 1980s. She founded the Maki Textile Studio in Tokyo and later established the Ganga Maki Textile Studio in Uttarakhand, India, where she built a new weaving workshop at the foothills of the Himalayas, designed by Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai. The studio opened in 2017 and has since become a symbol of Maki’s dedication to sustainable practices in textile art.
When: Until February 28; 10 AM to 6 PM
Where: Gallery Art Motif, A1-178 Safdarjung Enclave, Fourth Floor, New Delhi
