Overview
In this evocative and colorful exhibition, artist Baylee Schmitt reaches into her past, recreating her childhood bedroom from memory through the medium of crochet. Crochet is an intimate practice; each stitch of yarn has passed through the artist’s hands, imbuing the works with a palpable and deeply personal sense of nostalgia. Schmitt shared this bedroom with her twin sister and each crocheted piece has its own corresponding match: there are two beds, one striped and the other polka dotted; the two dressers face each other, featuring crocheted portraits of the artist and her sister. The effect is both harmonious and discordant, reminiscent of the complexities of familial relationships.
The viewer is invited into this space to convene with the artist and to contemplate their own past. As the crocheted works hang from the ceiling, they create an immersive installation, while simultaneously serving as a reminder of the gravity of time. The loose yarn reaches toward the ground and the bodies of the works gently sway; there is a fragility and precarity to the exhibition, reflective of the fleeting substantiality of memory. In “we settle into corners with the dust and mites,” Schmitt immortalizes her history, giving corporeality to the intangible and pulling the past into the present.
Exhibition statement
Crochet is a series of units: stitches that make up rows, rows that make up shapes, and shapes that make up both image and object. It echoes the way memories, relationships, and experiences seem to make up a person; the way rooms make up a house; and the way individuals make up a family. I use yarn to build shapes stitch by stitch, crafting an image to interpret the emotional memory of the space we inhabited as a unit.
A relationship fraught with petty bickering, clenched teeth, and arm pinching is also one of inherent, sometimes tense, allyship, inside jokes, and comfort. Perhaps our relationship, and the room that housed it, is defined by difference more than similarity – a sort of melty ego mess with disparate parts that don’t yet know their individual shapes. They are defined by the other and changing all the time.
Artist Bio
Baylee Schmitt (born Ohio, USA, 1998) is currently the printmaking lab manager at University of Cincinnati DAAP. Memory, place, and the indistinguishable difference between childhood fact and fantasy are central to Baylee’s practice as a fiber artist and printmaker. Baylee has exhibited work with solo exhibitions at River East Gallery in Toledo, OH, at LASC in Lexington, KY, the Fitton Center for Creative Arts in Hamilton, OH, and an upcoming exhibition of a new installation at Laisun Keane in Boston, MA. Baylee has also participated in group exhibitions at DesignTO in Canada, Ohio Craft Museum in Columbus, OH, Sanitary Tortilla Factory in Albuquerque, NM, and Gallery 130 at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS. She received her MFA from Miami University, Ohio.
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Baylee Schmitt, Polka Dot Bed (with head/footboard)$ 10,000.00 -
Baylee Schmitt, Striped Bed (head/footboard)$ 10,000.00
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Baylee Schmitt, Door B$ 5,500.00
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Baylee Schmitt, Nursing Home Egg Hunt: First Prize, 2024$ 1,200.00
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Baylee Schmitt, Cinderella Sweater, 2024$ 1,200.00
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Baylee Schmitt, Sleeping Beauty Sweater, 2024$ 1,200.00
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Baylee Schmitt, We can't be friends anymore, Bella..., 2024$ 1,000.00
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BAYLEE SCHMITT: we settle into corners with dust and mites
Solo exhibition
January 3 - February 16, 2025
Boston, MA — LaiSun Keane is excited to present “we settle into corners with dust and mites”, the first solo exhibition by Baylee Schmitt, on view from January 3 to February 16, 2025. The exhibition recreates Schmitt’s childhood bedroom, a space she shared with her twin sister, through a series of crocheted objects.
Schmitt transforms the gallery into a nostalgic and surreal environment, meticulously handcrafting every detail from crochet yarn, including beds, dressers, windows, doors, pillows, a TV, and even a trophy mug. The result is a tactile exploration of memory, family, and the comfort found in familiar physical spaces. Through the time-intensive, meditative process of crocheting, Schmitt reflects on her identity and relationships, creating works that resonate with both personal and universal meanings.
Schmitt holds an MFA from Miami University in Ohio, completed a residency at Bethany Arts Community in New York, and has received awards including the Chrysalis Award Honorable Mention from the James Renwick Alliance for Craft. Her work has been featured in solo exhibitions in Ohio and Kentucky and was included in many group exhibitions around the country. She lives and works in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The public is invited to an Opening Reception on Friday, January 3, from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, and an Artist Talk on Saturday, January 4, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM.
About the Gallery
LaiSun Keane is a contemporary art gallery in Boston committed to showcasing innovative and compelling artists from diverse backgrounds.
www.laisunkeane.com
Admission is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact us at info@laisunkeane.com.
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Boston Art Review Reviews Baylee Schmitt "we settle into corners with the dust and mites"
by Melanie Litwin January 22, 2025The past and present were woven together once again as I walked into LaiSun Keane and was transported to a crocheted recreation of artist Baylee Schmitt’s childhood bedroom. The exhibition, “we settle into corners with the dust and mites,” explores Schmitt’s complex relationship with her twin sister through depicting the bedroom the two once shared, crocheted from Schmitt’s memory.Read more -
Boston Globe Column "Working Artist" features Baylee Schmitt
by Cate McQuaid January 13, 2025Boston Globe column "Working Artist" features Baylee Schmitt whose crochet installation is on view at LaiSun Keane from January 3 through February 16, 2025. This is Baylee's first solo exhibition with the gallery and debut show in Boston.Read more
