Marilou Schultz, a Diné weaver and longtime math teacher, has spent decades exploring the meeting point between traditional weaving and digital logic. Her first retrospective at the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College brings together about 55 works and archival materials, tracing a practice that turns textile art into a language for technology.
Raised in Leupp on the Navajo Nation, Schultz learned weaving as a child from her mother and grandmothers. Over time, she expanded that foundation through experimentation with dyes, looms, and form. Her work later moved into a distinctive dialogue with computer chips, especially after a 1995 commission from Intel inspired her to create a woven design based on a microchip.
One of her best-known works, Replica of a Chip (1994), translated processor architecture into woven pattern, while later pieces became less literal and more symbolic. In recent years, Schultz has used metallic threads and new loom structures to suggest conductive networks, three-dimensional forms, and the visual rhythm of digital systems.
The exhibition also highlights the intergenerational knowledge behind her art, including works by four generations of women in her family. Schultz's approach shows how craft can evolve without losing its roots, connecting Diné cultural memory with the aesthetics of computing and artificial intelligence.
As Schultz prepares to retire from teaching and focus fully on weaving, her practice points toward a future where heritage techniques continue to shape how we imagine innovation.