Hiroko Takeda: The Ten Thousand Threads
Hunter Dunbar Projects is pleased to announce The Ten Thousand Threads, an exhibition of recent work by Hiroko Takeda. Known for her innovative approach to textiles, Takeda (b. 1966) combines techniques from the Japanese Arts and Crafts movement Mingei Undo as well as global weaving methods and references to 20th century geometric abstraction. This will mark the first one-person presentation of the artist’s work in New York.
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Hiroko TakedaQuad, 2025Biodegradable monofilament, cotton, linen, kid mohair115 x 92 in
292.1 x 233.7 cm -
Hiroko TakedaGathering XIII, 2023Cotton, kid mohair, linen44 x 68 x 3 in
111.8 x 172.7 x 7.6 cm -
Hiroko TakedaBlueprint Teal VII, 2024Cotton, linen, wool36 x 41 1/2 x 1 in
91.4 x 105.4 x 2.5 cm -
Hiroko TakedaGathering V, 2022Cotton, linen, kid mohair30 1/2 x 22 1/2 x 1 1/2 in
77.5 x 57.1 x 3.8 cm -
Hiroko TakedaGathering XIV, 2025cotton, linen, mohair49 1/2 x 55 1/2 x 3/4 in
125.7 x 141 x 1.9 cm -
Hiroko TakedaYellowbird VII, 2024Cotton, silk, linen, mohair58 x 59 x 2 1/2 in
147.3 x 149.9 x 6.3 cm -
Hiroko TakedaMatsushima Triptych, 2025Monofilament, cotton, linen, kid mohairEach panel 58.5 x 46 in.
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Hiroko TakedaStill Life XV, 2025Cotton, linen, kid mohair
52.5 x 45 x 3 inches (133 x 114 x 7.5 cm) -
Hiroko TakedaNostalgia Diptych, 2024Silk, cotton, linen, woolNostalgia III, Left: 43 x 24 x 2.5 inches (109 x 61 x 6 cm)
Nostalgia IV, Right: 29.5 x 24 x 2.5 inches (75 x 61 x 6 cm) -
Hiroko TakedaMonotype Winterland: I & II, 2024Monofilament, cotton, linen, kid mohair58 1/2 x 43 x 2 1/4 in
148.6 x 109.2 x 5.7 cm -
Hiroko TakedaOff Season, 2025Cotton, linen, mohair94 x 98 in
239 x 249 cm -
Hiroko TakedaRiver Triptych, 2023Monofilament, cotton, linen, kid mohair
Overall dimensions: 48.5 x 76.5 x 2.25 in. (123.2 x 194.3 x 6 cm)
Each panel: 48.5 x 25.5 x 2.25 in. (123.2 x 65 x 6 cm) -
Hiroko TakedaDig I, 2025Sisal, metallic yarn112 x 53 in
284.5 x 134.6 cm
Hunter Dunbar Projects is pleased to announce The Ten Thousand Threads, an exhibition of recent work by Hiroko Takeda. Known for her innovative approach to textiles, Takeda (b. 1966) combines techniques from the Japanese Arts and Crafts movement Mingei Undo as well as global weaving methods and references to 20th century geometric abstraction. This will mark the first one-person presentation of the artist’s work in New York.
Born in Nagoya and raised in Tokyo, Takeda currently lives and works in Brooklyn. She received her MA from the Royal College of Art in London and was previously senior designer at Jack Larsen Studio in New York. Takeda has been an artist-in-residence at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. She has also received the International Textile Award in Tokyo, the ICFF Editors Award, and the Jack Larsen Contemporary Textile Award.
The Ten Thousand Threads takes its title from the Taoist concept of The Ten Thousand Things. Often attributed to the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, it refers to the notion that in spite of the variety visible in the world, all things are fundamentally one. Applying this to Takeda’s practice, the multitudinous variations in weft and weave, color, pattern, and structure in her work can be seen as having an underlying connection; the works reside within the “the rule-bound world of weaving ” and simultaneously emphasize an “invitation to the accidental, disorderly, or unexpected. ” Takeda’s works in The Ten Thousand Threads strive to transcend boundaries between light and dark, raw and refined, geometry and fluidity, painting and sculpture.
The exhibition features works from 2016 to 2025, consisting of varying approaches to structure, pattern, and color. The Blueprint and Still Life series utilize the ‘Giant Waffle’ technique to evoke Minimalist rectilinear patterns. The deeply structured grids created by the warp and weft of Takeda’s weaving push the compositions dramatically into three-dimensional space.
Works using transparent thread, on the other hand, imply subtle and dreamlike landscapes. In her recent Matsushima triptych (2025), for example, Takeda uses staggered horizontal passages of fine and coarse textures to suggest the seascapes and islands of tsunami-weathered northeastern Japan. Whether underscoring geometric form or expressive vistas, Takeda’s work illuminates the fundamental tensions between tradition and innovation as well as complexity and reductionism.
