ASI Presents “Handwoven: Between Chaos and Order”

MINNEAPOLIS, MN—This spring, the American Swedish Institute museum and cultural center will host Handwoven: Between Chaos and Order, an exhibition spanning textiles, sculpture, and moving image, often addressing themes of the body, identity, and the duality of tradition and change.  

Opening February 14 to June 7, 2026, this vibrant sensory textile exhibition is by Swedish artist Emelie Röndahl (b. 1982). Röndahl creates large-scale figurative textiles that challenge and expand the possibilities of rya, a traditional Scandinavian weaving technique. This exhibition showcases many of her handwoven works, including two moving-image pieces and a newly commissioned self-portrait. 

On view throughout the Turnblad Mansion, visitors will encounter more than 20 of Röndahl’s handwoven works. Video documentation of her weaving process provides further insight into the evolution of her subjects, which range from internet imagery to world events to intimate depictions of family, pets, and her own body.   

Her large, woven pieces can be unclear at first, but they reveal themselves upon closer examination. Her works around the Turnblad Mansion ask viewers to slow down and look closely. Instead of trimming the excess threads, she intentionally lets them hang, where they appear to be “crying.” 

In addition to Röndahl’s work, the traveling exhibition of Nordic Echoes: Tradition in Contemporary Art, curated by the American-Scandinavian Foundation, will also be on view.

This exhibition features works by 24 artists from the Upper Midwest, including Tia Keobounpheng, Christine Novotny, John Frandy, Talon Cavender-Wilson, Mike Loeffler, and more. Through mixed media works, including wood, textiles, clay, and metal, the exhibition challenges the dominant “heritage model” of ethnic folklore by emphasizing that “all tradition is change.” 

More information about each exhibition and related programming will be announced and available on asimn.org.   

 
Handwoven: Between Chaos and Order Digital Press Kit. 

Nordic Echoes: Tradition in Contemporary Art Digital Press Kit.