Erick Mendel is a Los Angeles-based artist known for his unique textile art, creating scenes of immigrant life using thread and a sewing machine.
Medel moved to the United States from Mexico as a teenager, and he positions his work in the context of the wider history of immigrant labor.
Medel began working with textiles while completing his MFA at the Rhode Island School of Design.
The artist draws inspiration from the Boyle Heights neighborhood outside of his studio, showcasing sidewalk scenes, festivals, sidewalk scenes, and family moments from a thriving immigrant community.
Medel’s technique involves embroidering denim with colorful threads, transforming everyday scenes into detailed artworks.
Using a sewing machine as a drawing tool, he creates stitches that act like brushstrokes.
The resulting work appears soft when viewed from a distance, but up close it vibrates with expressive visual energy.
His work often honors labor, hard work, and the beauty of family in his immigrant roots.
More of Erick Mendel’s amazing needlework can be found at https://www.erickmedel.com/.
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