The world of textile art is an interesting place. We’ve seen knitted zines, woven pixels, Fiona Apple lyrics as tapestry and a very phallic take on fabric sculpture. You name it, someone’s sewn it.
So when we came across San Francisco-based artist Ben Venom’s heavy metal-inspired quilts, we can’t say we were surprised. We can say, however, that we were sufficiently impressed with his ability to turn “your grandmother’s sewing circle” into a celebration of vintage tattoos, the occult and motorcycle gangs. Blending, as he puts it, B-movie horror film style with the delicate intricacy of quilting, he creates the perfect mashup of traditional and unconventional. Behold:
“I’m interested in juxtaposing traditional handmade crafts with extreme elements found on the fringes of society,” Venom writes in his artist statement. “My work can be described as opposing forces colliding at lightening speed.”
Images that frequently pop up in Venom’s works include ax-wielding skeletons riding tigers, eagles adorned in chains, knives embedded in animal heads, skulls, eyeballs, anchors, more skulls and more knives. Threaded together from the artist’s old t-shirts, with bits of denim and leather tossed in for good measure, the decadent blankets are the perfect piece of art for a Megadeth fan who enjoys a toasty night’s sleep. Or a Slayer enthusiast who appreciates the perfect piece of wall art.
Take a peek at Venom’s extreme and beautiful designs below and let us know your thoughts on his particular brand of quilting in the comments.
Venom sent a batch of his newest works, not yet seen on the internet, below:
