Kay Sekimachi modeled boxes in paper before weaving this seamless fabric form on the loom and pressing it into shape. When Sekimachi began weaving boxes in the 1970s, she was known for gauzy wall hangings made from layers of nylon fishing line, which she wove flat and then unfurled into billowing forms. The Takarabako boxes—meaning “treasure chest” in Japanese—offer a sturdier, more intimate answer to the question of how to weave three-dimensional volumes.

Written by Ella Nowicki, Windgate Curatorial Fellow