“Textile is a universal language. In all of the cultures of the world, textile is a crucial and essential component. Therefore, if you’re beginning with thread, you’re halfway home. There’s a level of familiarity that immediately breaks down any prejudice.” So said American artist Sheila Hicks in 2014 of a material that has been a mainstay of her career, woven, sculpted and teased into all manner of giant installations.

The Principal Wife is part of a series of works of the same name by the pioneering fibre artist. To make them, she wraps bundles of undyed linen thread with brightly dyed thread at random intervals to form sculptures that appear to cascade down the wall. The title recalls the varied roles of women that Hicks has observed and the ways in which they can split and combine into new forms.

Hicks’ work is currently on show in Weaving Abstraction in Modern and Ancient Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, until 16 June 2024.