Tambour is a refined convergence of visual art and fashion, delicately interwoven through the language of embroidery and form. In this collaborative exhibition between artist Arce and fashion designer Joe San Antonio, the tambour embroidery frame serves as both subject and symbol, a quiet yet powerful emblem of creation, discipline, and grace. Traditionally used to keep the fabric taut during needlework, the tambour frame transforms into a metaphor for the creative process itself: the tension required for beauty to unfold, the stillness necessary for precision, and the structure within which intricacy takes shape.

Arce’s visual compositions and richly textured artworks investigate the tambour as a contemplative space where artistry and reflection merge, each gesture echoing a meditation on fragility and foundation. Every piece invites close inspection, revealing the subtlety of texture and the eloquence of a single stroke. Joe San Antonio, known for her romantic and lyrical silhouettes, extends this ethos into fashion, treating fabric as a medium and thread as the narrative. Her garments, intentional and refined, echo the tambour’s dual themes of architecture and ornamentation, presenting the body as both vessel and voice.

Together, Arce and Joe present Tambour as a composed homage to the virtues of precision and patience, a celebration of the threshold where contemporary art and couture meet. It is an ode to the craftsmanship of becoming, where lives, like textiles and paintings, are shaped through intention, detail, and a steady hand.



Write-up by Deseree Mapandi