Art
Craft
#cartoons
#embroidery
#humor
#Peter Frederiksen
#pop culture
Peter Frederiksen Dramatizes the Dark Humor of Classic Cartoons in His Cropped Embroideries
March 27, 2024
Grace Ebert
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-68d8747b2e7bfe05e5c3b946084b797c.jpg)
“The days keep getting longer.” All images © Peter Frederiksen, shared with permission
Chicago-based artist Peter Frederiksen (previously) pinpoints the most ridiculous, exaggerated moments in cartoons and animated shows to dramatize them further into absurdity. Cropping a single outlandish action or event, Frederiksen uses free-motion machine embroidery to stitch stylized compositions that, out of context, emphasize their dark humor.
Recent works include a Looney Tunes-style mishmash of feet and fists that burst through a bulging door in “Some locks won’t hold” and the tongue-in-cheek archery challenge of “Going easy on myself.” Often focusing on escalated tensions, the embroideries accentuate moments of high anxiety in a nostalgic, comforting childhood medium.
Frederiksen has started to switch to digital jacquard weavings for larger pieces. The base becomes a guide for his stitches and provides a colorful backing, which allows for less dense compositions. He’s also incorporated more unwieldy crops, including in works like “The days keep getting longer,” portraying a preposterously elongated filing cabinet.
In April, Frederiksen will open a solo show at Steve Turner Gallery in Los Angeles, along with a dual show in June at UNION Gallery in London. He plans to release a limited-edition print with All Star Press on April 25 and has a candle collaboration coming this spring with Varyer. Follow his latest works and chances to attend one of his workshops in Chicago on Instagram.
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-2c4c1161254176fd0c805214bc1c4ac1.jpg)
“Start in the middle and work back”
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-50eb9b1b4c17175cafffae6664ccd834.jpg)
“Some locks won’t hold”
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-ba8942d1805fe527b74bf0c19a40b56d.jpg)
“Closer with every cut”
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-aa7a589952bde9506fd261e176ed207f.jpg)
“Going easy on myself”
![](/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frc-405b7b1fb9d443a4de79da59417178ec.jpg)
“Interrogation of desire”
#cartoons
#embroidery
#humor
#Peter Frederiksen
#pop culture
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