Chromatic Solace

A solo exhibition of work by Chilean textile artist Carmen Mardonez, presented by Hannah Payne Art at TM Gallery, from 20 March – 5 June 2026.

Working across large-scale embroidered works, sculptural textiles and installation, Mardonez reimagines embroidery as a contemporary visual language shaped by colour, gesture and material presence. Now based in Oxford, the artist draws on experiences of place and light — from the saturated hues of Los Angeles to the atmospheric rhythms of the Northern Lights — to create immersive, emotionally resonant environments.

At the heart of Chromatic Solace is making as a form of refuge. Colour becomes a space of safety and intimacy, while layered, freehand stitches build expansive surfaces that invite close, bodily engagement. Using discarded domestic textiles such as bedsheets and clothing, the works carry traces of shared lives, care and labour, asserting embroidery as a site of autonomy, tenderness and creative freedom.

The exhibition presents a new five-metre-wide embroidered installation shown publicly for the first time, alongside works from the artist’s ongoing Textildermy series and a sculptural wall-hung textile piece. The works are lit using TM Lighting’s high-CRI lighting, bringing depth, colour and texture vividly to life.

As part of the gallery programme, TM Gallery will present an Artist Talk with Carmen Mardonez in conversation with TF Chan, Director of COLLECT, at TM Gallery on 29 April, 6.30 – 8.30 pm. More details to follow.

Image: Carmen Mardonez, Textildermy IV, 2023, hand embroidered thread on discarded bedsheet (120 x 122 cm / 47 x 48 in) Image courtesy of the Artist and Hannah Payne Art

Photography: David Owens Photo