Fruiting Bodies (2025) by Mats Dahlberg

August 2025

53 x 53 inches 

acrylic paint, the Artist’s great-grandmother's doilies, faux fur, feathers, rhinestones, beads, sequins, stuffing, and assorted fabric on unstretched canvas. Featuring other hand-beaded doily 'mutations' in installation.

'Fruiting Bodies' explores the intricacies of the microcosm, how fungi transform death into rebirth, and what interconnects all living beings. The installation blends the artist's traditional fine arts painting background with more recently acquired fashion techniques and materials to create a vibrant tapestry. A key element in the work is the use of the artist's great-grandmother's doilies, which have been painted and beaded over in a continuation of the lineage of making. The blending of old and new plays with the themes of rebirth and explores the delineation between practices traditionally viewed as craft and fine art.

Mats (they/them) was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota and now resides in Chicago. Since graduating with a BA in Fine Arts from Columbia College Chicago in 2023, they work as a freelance costume designer for drag and nightlife performers in Chicago and around the world.