LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Los Angeles County Museum of Art presents Textile Alchemy: The Art of Reiko Sudō & NUNO. Reiko Sudō is an acclaimed Japanese designer who has pioneered innovative textiles for more than four decades. NUNO, a textile collective in Japan led by Sudō, has transformed Japanese textile design through experimentation with traditional and contemporary materials and techniques. The largest in-depth survey to date, this exhibition traces Sudō and NUNO’s innovative processes with technology and sustainability initiatives, often created in collaboration with independent artisans and workshops across Japan and utilized by celebrated architects. Textile Alchemy features over 100 limited-edition textiles, many of which are drawn from LACMA’s collection, together with drawings, sketches, raw materials, tools, mock-ups, and prototypes.

Sudō designed the custom chrome-sputtered curtains for LACMA's David Geffen Galleries, making her work a permanent part of the museum's architecture and visitor experience. A multi-year collaboration between Sudō, LACMA, and architect Peter Zumthor, the curtains were engineered to partially block visual light transmission (VLT), while preserving views of Los Angeles. Examples of the Geffen Galleries’ LACMA x NUNO Sputtered Chrome textiles are presented alongside her iconic Stainless Steel Gloss (aka “Sputter Gloss” and “Sputtering Gloss”) (1994, first issued 1990) that inspired LACMA’s curtains.

The exhibition’s unique design allows visitors to experience these textiles in different ways. A recreation of the original 1984 NUNO shop acts as the hub of the exhibition. Functioning as a LACMA retail store, the shop encourages visitors to engage with NUNO goods, such as textiles, clothing, and accessories, available for purchase, after learning about Sudō’s creative process in the galleries. Visual artist Ann Hamilton advised and guided the exhibition design in collaboration with the LACMA team. Textile Alchemy is curated by Sharon S. Takeda, senior curator and department head of Costume & Textiles and Japanese Art at LACMA.

“Reiko Sudō and NUNO are among the most influential voices in contemporary textile design, bridging art, craft, technology, and sustainability,” said Takeda. “Like the alchemists of the past who sought to transform base materials into something precious, Sudō turns humble materials into unexpected works of beauty and cutting-edge design. We are excited to offer visitors a deeper understanding of textiles as both artistic and cultural objects.”





“With Reiko Sudō’s chrome-sputtered curtains gracing our newly opened David Geffen Galleries, we are lucky to be able to celebrate one of the world’s most inventive textile designers in the same year of our opening,” said Michael Govan, LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director. “Notably, LACMA now holds one of the most extensive collections of NUNO textiles in the world, making this comprehensive survey possible. Our collaboration with Sudō is a symbol of the partnership between art, architecture, and design that defines this museum, as well as an example of our longstanding commitment to presenting important artistic voices from Japan and across Asia.”

Exhibition Highlights

Textile Alchemy is organized by key principles of Sudō and NUNO’s practice.

Sudō began collaborating with weavers, dyers, artisans, and engineers across Japan in 1987. Her openness to other fields, including automotive manufacturing and industrial design, resulted in the emergence of NUNO’s most celebrated textiles. The Experimentation section includes examples such as the Metal series, where Sudō transformed industrial coatings used on plastic automobile parts into shimmering fabrics that look like metal but remain soft and flexible.

In the 1990s, Sudō traveled extensively throughout Japan’s traditional textile-producing regions. This journey deepened her understanding of the country’s rich textile heritage and connected her with artisans whose skills were at risk of disappearing. To Sudō, tradition is not something to be preserved under glass but celebrated as a living resource. In the Reimagining Textile Traditions section, centuries-old practices—such as handmade paper (washi) making, embroidery, and stencil-printed ikat (meisen)—are reimagined through Reiko Sudō’s and NUNO’s ingenuity.

In the Sustainability and Reuse section, elements that would typically be thrown away are instead approached as upcycled raw materials. Kibiso, the coarse outer surface of silk cocoons that a silkworm spins first, is typically utilized as a by-product for animal feed, soap, and cosmetics. Silk-mill workers and artisans in the northern city of Tsuruoka worked with NUNO to transform its thick, stiff texture into finer, pliable thread, creating fabrics of entirely new character. Remnants of traditional handspun raw-silk threads, resist-dyed in mud on the island of Amami Ōshima, were unraveled, respun, and woven into new NUNO patterned textiles.

Reiko Sudō

Born in Ibaragi Prefecture, Japan, in 1953, Reiko Sudō received a graduate degree in textile design from Musashino Art University in Tokyo, where she also worked as a research assistant at the university’s Department of Industrial, Interior and Craft Design. In 1984, she helped found NUNO Corporation, where she is currently the CEO and Creative Director. Notably, Sudō is the recipient of many awards, including the Roscoe Award (New York), Japan Interior Designers Association (JID) Award, Mainichi Design Award, Enku Grand Award, Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award for Art Encouragement, among other honors. Sudō is also a design consultant for MUJI, Tsuruoka Fabric Industry Cooperative, steteco.com, and others, and a member of MUJI’s advisory board. She taught at Musashino Art University in 1988–2006 and at Tokyo Zokei University in 2002–19. In 2005, she was awarded an Honorary Master’s Degree from the University for the Creative Arts, UK. Sudō has participated in numerous group shows worldwide, and her works are represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and many others.