By Mason Fujikawa | Feb 13, 2026 

Interstitial at Gallery Sonder is the first solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist Sheng Lor. Lor, a Hmong American, learned to embroider at a young age and began her career as a weaver. She has since shifted to a conceptual approach and translated her skills to more contemporary media. This exhibition comprises two series: Thread Drawings and Dressed Looms. Working in illustration and sculpture has allowed Lor to bring her work into a fine art context from which weaving is usually excluded, relegated instead to craft or folk art. Interstitial, underpinned by Hmong mythology, resembles a funeral, eulogizing her former practice. 

The Thread Drawings are a series of seven abstract compositions, each titled after a color. From afar, one might assume they were airbrushed. Upon closer examination, they are made up of layers of colored pencil marks. The lines mimic the threads of a textile, allowing Lor to weave without a loom. She intentionally uses low-contrast colors to achieve a dreamy, iridescent effect, obscuring the spirits within them (hence the title “Iris”). Though freer than the grid of a loom, patterns still emerge in these compositions, recalling Paj Ntaub, or flower cloth, traditional Hmong textiles woven with colorful fabrics and embroidered with geometric patterns. In Green (Iris), for example, there is a faint chain of pink diamonds on the green background. However, the Thread Drawings are merely impressions, as hazy as a faded memory. 

The spirits on the wall bear witness to the burial of the Dressed Looms at the center of the gallery. These unorthodox sculptures, the real centerpieces of the exhibition, are made from discarded looms wrapped in naturally dyed fabrics. Each sculpture is unique, with different dimensions and color palettes. The overlapping of these colors produces a brilliant visual quality. The thick webs of fabric appear strikingly organic against their wooden bodies, as if reclaimed by nature. In traditional Hmong funerals, the deceased are dressed for safe passage to the afterlife. Lor has dressed these looms for their burial, putting them “to rest,” in her own words. 

The Dressed Looms interact with and play off their environment. Light shines through the small cracks, and the colors pop against the white walls of the gallery. They possess an undeniable presence in the room: ominous, yet peaceful. One doesn’t have to be familiar with Hmong culture to feel their spiritual weight. 

Loom 6, made with a smaller sample loom, adds variety to the sculptures. The coolness of its metal surface creates a deeper contrast with the warmth of the fabric. It’s an interesting experiment, though it lacks the scale of the others. 

In Interstitial, Sheng Lor’s Thread Drawings and Dressed Looms work together to create a space for mourning and reflection. The exhibition presents a distinct cultural perspective through meticulous craftsmanship. Lor’s colors, patterns, marks, and the spaces between them imbue raw material with spiritual energy. 

Interstitial by Sheng Lor 

February 6 – March 7, 2026 

Gallery Sonder 

3435 East Coast Highway 

Corona Del Mar, CA 92625