SANTA FE, NM — Contemporary art gallery Kouri + Corrao is excited to announce I Say A Little Prayer, New Mexico-based textile artist Karen Hampton’s second solo show with the gallery. I Say A Little Prayer opens May 9, 2025, at the gallery’s Siler-Rufina location, 3213 Calle Marie, Santa Fe, NM. The gallery will host an artist reception on Friday, May 9, from 5 to 7 PM. I Say A Little Prayer will remain on view through June 14, 2025.
I Say A Little Prayer highlights Hampton’s mastery of dye and weaving. By dying bast (plant) fibers and cotton rope with fiber-reactive dyes, indigo, sappanwood, logwood, pomegranate and alum, Hampton produces brightly saturated threads, which eventually make their way onto the loom. Working on a 54-inch-eight harness Gilmore loom, Hampton creates large swaths of richly diverse lace-type fabrics that evoke an immensely hopeful aura. Rooted in and building upon traditional weaving methods from around the world, Hampton’s indistinguishable hand imbues each piece with historical context, storytelling and a nod to the future.
“This body of work is very introspective,” explains Hampton. “It is built on prayers for the world, humanity, and my survival. I begin many of my lectures with the phrase, ‘To be alive is a political act,’ which is an extension of that. I am a futurist artist who uses history and a community’s emotional pulse to divine the future. This exhibition combines how I am feeling, what I am praying about, and the hopefully peaceful, egalitarian future I am dreaming of.”
Entering I Say A Little Prayer, the viewer encounters three works: a large painted textile embellished with Hampton’s hand-stitching in dialogue with a series of painted gourds from Hampton’s homestead. Heavily anchored in the current political environment, Hampton presents self-sufficiency as a survival tactic. Furthering this notion, an elk antler woven into suspension descends from the ceiling, nodding to Hampton’s prayers ascending to the heavens.
Moving into the main gallery space, two of Hampton’s stitched silk works greet the viewer with overwhelming positivity imparted initially by way of text and supported with the vibrant colors. Lastly, four mounted large woven banners, incorporating a multitude of bast fibers in vivid colors and thoughtfully placed found objects, mimic prayer flags, offering up Hampton’s hopes and dreams.
“It has been an honor working with Karen over the past four years,” said gallery Director Takeo Royer. “Seeing her work evolve and embrace current events and emotions has an immensely powerful effect on all of us.”
