threads of connection
Margarita Jane Arguedas (b. 1990, Minneapolis, MN) holds an art practice rooted in the belief that everything is connected on a fundamental level.
Reflecting on the systems and patterns that shape the intricate web of life, Arguedas draws inspiration from mysticism, ecosystems, biology, and physics.
At the core of her practice is the act of deconstructing knit fabric by hand to its most fundamental form, engaging with it as a living material, which she has developed for 15 years since studying Sculpture at the California College of the Arts.
This process becomes a meditation on interdependence, transformation, and the unseen forces that bind us—as it is the visualization of the vital life-force energy woven through all living things and that sustains the fabric of existence.
Through painting and sculpture installation, she reimagines the material as a visual language—one that speaks to the tension and harmony woven through all things.
Arguedas is drawn to liminal thresholds where opposing forces meet and something new can emerge. Her relationship to these spaces is deeply personal, as she’s lived between cultural worlds since she was born.
Born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, USA, Arguedas is the child of an immigrant father from the rural mountains of Costa Rica and a White American mother born in the suburbs outside of Chicago. Given life experience and ancestral lineage, she embodies the tension and possibility of the threshold, shaping her sensitivity to spaces that hold multiple realities at once and the power to transform them.
Certified in Reiki Level II, Arguedas infuses her work with reiki—otherwise culturally known as ‘prana’ or ‘qi/chi’, the aforementioned vital life-force energy woven through all living things by invisible threads of energy.
This process furthers her work into a spiritual dimension that bridges the seen and unseen worlds, while serving as a source for healing and truth for both herself and the viewer—building an additional bridge.
..how it all unraveled..
Arguedas began hand-deconstructing knit fabric—a process similar to a run in a pair of stockings, while studying Sculpture at the California College of Art.
It was during one of her classes with internationally renowned visiting artist Chiharu Shiota—former student of pioneering performance artist Marina Abramović in the late 1990s—that sparked the idea for hand-deconstructing knit fabric.
Shiota explained to her class how we perform our identities through what we choose to wear, and our clothing serves as our ‘second skin’. This deeply resonated with Arguedas, and she decided to apply this concept to the semester-long project for her casting class.
For her project, she explored the concept that we ‘cast’ ourselves in clothing, deconstructing the relationship between identity and materiality.
She discovered the technique of deconstructing fabric as a common method in the fashion industry to make knit clothing look more ‘grungy’, and began applying the technique to large swaths of knit fabric for sculptural pieces instead.
Arguedas’ work has since evolved to explore the connecting threads within micro and macro systems—discovering patterns woven throughout the fabric of our lived experience.
She currently lives in Portland, Maine, USA.
