Built on the existential foundations of philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and expanded upon in the early 1940s by Albert Camus, absurdism gained traction in the post-war era, centered on ideas around life’s meaninglessness, and reflected a societal attempt to contend with immense trauma. Now, the philosophy of Absurdism is the starting point for a sweeping group exhibition at Miami’s Contemporary Art Modern Project (CAMP) Gallery, “Women Pulling at The Threads of Social Discourse: Don’t be Absurd.”
Marking the seventh edition of the series program, the show features dozens of artists who were asked to reference works by Camus, Franz Kafka, Simone de Beauvoir, Samuel Beckett, and José Saramago, whose writings have come to define 20th-century philosophy. Engaging with these figures, the artists in the show interpreted their writings into circular, tondo-like fiber “responses.” Covering the gallery walls, the exhibition itself generates a multi-faceted conversation between artists, writers, and viewers, both historical and contemporary.
The textile and fiber art responses to the listed writers are each wholly unique, both formally and conceptually. For example, Filipina American artist RemiJin Camping maintains a photography-based practice, and her work Gesture #6 (2025) is a cyanotype that nods its head to fiber art through its presentation in an embroidery hoop. Referencing Kafka’s The Metamorphosis (1915), her work explores psychological turmoil and release by toeing the line between figuration and abstraction. Elsewhere, Dayton-based Mychaelyn Michalec’s The Pietà and The Swan (2025), made from hand-tufted wool on felt, approaches absurdism through recognizable motifs—but with a twist, as the elements are disjointed in a way that is simultaneously humorous and uncanny.