Claire Oliver Gallery in New York has announced the opening of a debut solo exhibition by American artist Carolyn Mazloomi, titled Whole Cloth: Narratives in Black and White.

Based in Ohio, Mazloomi is, among other things, an author, curator, art historian, aerospace engineer, and quilter. From her many pursuits, her creative work with textiles is, arguably, what she is best known for. In 1986, she helped to found the Women of Color Quilters Network, and since that time she has produced many acclaimed works of art through the medium.

This new exhibition is the result of her latest endeavour in quilting: using large scale pieces to record and celebrate the lives and achievements of various Black civil-rights activists, leaders and revolutionaries.

Raised in the segregated communities of the Jim-Crow era South, such figures have long been of inspiration to Mazloomi and, years on from their struggles, she still finds their stories too often overlooked or oversimplified. As such, she felt moved to create powerful portraits of their efforts and courage, rendering them in detailed artworks that are at once complex and accessible.

Taking drawings from her sketchbooks, Mazloomi has printed them onto cotton fabric in bold black ink reminiscent of the graphics captured in woodblock prints and photographs reproduced in newspapers.

This monochromatic approach (though she occasionally uses secondary colours) ensures that the aesthetic does not distract from the subject matter, spotlighting the stories of these trailblazers in a simple yet engaging way. Among the figures featured in Mazloomi’s quilts are influential names such as John Lewis, Josephine Baker, Ida B Wells, and Fannie Lou Hamer – visionaries that the artist has idolised since her formative years.

For Mazloomi, the medium of quilting was the perfect outlet through which to memorialise their narratives for future generations.

“Quiltmaking is a tradition and a mode of expression that is both intimate and esteemed,” she explains. “Every human being has an intimate relationship with cloth. It is the first thing we are swathed in at birth, and the last thing that touches our body upon our death. Through the nuance of textile, difficult stories can reach audiences across identities and generations from a place of care, hearth, peace, and nurture.”

Whole Cloth: Narratives in Black and White is on show at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York until November 2; claireoliver.com