The Eye is the First Circle

The work of Kelly McKaig

Exhibit Statement

For me, stitching is an intimate, hopeful act. The action is small, quiet, binding. It is about strength and connection. It grounds me and allows me to express empathy with my materials, to influence and be influenced by them. Stitching allows me to express my humanity through the work of my hands.

I approach sustainability in my art practice through the use of reclaimed fabrics and objects. One of the biggest joys of my practice is the use of these materials. I deconstruct baby clothes, men’s shirts, and women’s blouses; there is no substitute for the softness and hand of fabric that has been worn and washed hundreds of times.

The fabric bears the marks of an already lived past via stains, worn patches, able construction, mending, someone else’s embellishment. I add and subvert this record through the dyeing process to make marks and then I respond to those marks with piecing, stitching, and layering. As the work progresses, a loose narrative arises.

Stitching connects me with the stream of makers that flows from the distant, even primitive, past; it connects me with the host of contemporary stitchers practicing across continents and cultures, as well as those future. It connects me with my own family – my grandmother, my aunts, my mother, my sister. Stitching connects me with myself: I slow down, look, breathe, am present.

Artist Bio

Kelly McKaig is a multimedia artist using textiles, photographs, and found material to address notions of mending, healing and the past. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including such venues as Michael Cosar Galerie, Dusseldorf, Germany; the Castle Museum, Prague, Czech Republic; Cincinnati Art Museum; O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, California; Southern Light Gallery, Amarillo, Texas; the Chicago Cultural Center; and Aron Packer Gallery, Chicago. She was a member of the Hyde Park Art Center Bridge Program 2024 cohort and is currently participating in the HPAC Center Program. She has received several grants from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. She was awarded a residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, Virginia, in March 2025 and at Jentel Artist Residency, Banner, Wyoming, in August 2025. McKaig spent time in as an Artist in Residence at Farwell House in Schuyler County. 

McKaig received a BA from the University of Iowa and lives and works on the South Side of Chicago.

Gallery Hours |

Tuesday 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Wednesday 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Thursday 1:00 – 7:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Have a group or class that would like to visit? Can’t visit during regular hours? Contact us to make a reservation. Email erin@thehubart.com or call
(217)216-5032 ext 1.