"SHE SAID, HE SAID"
Freehand machine embroidery (rayon threads)
19" x 15"

The same words, different meanings:
I'll drink to that.
I want just a simple meal.
Surprise me.
I want a more comfortable chair.
What's on television?
We need a new car.
Let's get away from it all.

A number of the works in the exhibit are parodies on famous paintings. Hickok’s use of figures and scenarios appropriated from well-known artists brings them into uncanny and sometimes startling positions. In “Breakfast at the National Gallery” characters from various works of art hanging in the National Gallery are enjoying breakfast together. Equally entertaining are the famous characters from beloved paintings at the New York Metropolitan Museum having tea and conversation in “Tea at the Met.” The improbable cast brought together at a large banquet table feel as if this must be what happens when the doors of the museum are locked for the night.

Sometimes delicate colored pencil markings on the cream colored background extend the thread environment Hickok has created. Her meticulously machine embroidered stitches layered upon one another, create a web of colors and shapes, built up delicately to reveal a scene.  Hickok states “To take a figure from a well loved painting and place it in a different situation presents a wonderful challenge to the imagination.  Viewers enjoy the test of identifying the art/artist, while I enjoy the attempt at distributing color as well as the original artist did.” 

There are two 3-dimensional pieces in the exhibit which incorporate stitched fabric surrounding an actual object. Creating a fabric of figures that will maintain visual and physical integrity is a “tour de force.” “Unruffled” is a simple sewing machine completely covered in easily recognized nudes from familiar paintings. They clearly raise the question about former skills expected of girls in the required “Home Economics” classes. The sewing machine itself speaks of this time period. An actual dial up telephone in “A Conversation Piece” is covered completely with embroidery of art historical figures speaking on the phone. The surprise of seeing these appropriated characters deep in conversation brings up thoughts of long boring conversations or the minutes that grow into hours spent “on hold.”

Hickok is a pivotal part of the attention and new respect for what has been described as “women’s craft.” Her work, described as contemporary works made of fiber and incorporating textile techniques, are a testimony to the power of these materials to make an innovative, creative expression with integrity of statement.

Hickok’s work has been shown in museums and exhibitions throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. It is in the permanent collection of numerous museums in the United States and abroad. Her work has also appeared in numerous art books. Recently she has had 2 major solo exhibits in museums, “Texas Master: Cindy Hickok” at the Houston Museum for Contemporary Art and “Art of the Stitch” showing in London, England, Dublin, Ireland, Paris, France, and Horst, The Netherlands.

Selected Museum Collections

Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, NY
Musee Jean Lurcat et de la Tapisseri Contemporaine,
      Angers, France
Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
SBISD Altharetta Yeargin Museum of Art, Houston, TX
Szombathelyi Keptar, Szombathelyi, Hungary
Temple Cultural Arts Center of Art, Temple, TX