“Home is stage, stage is home.” – Moki Cherry

The Living Temple: The World of Moki Cherry is the largest exhibition to date in the United States celebrating the boundary-breaking work of artist Moki Cherry (b. 1943, Norrbotten, Sweden; d. 2009, Tågarp, Sweden), whose life was her canvas. Showcasing colorful textiles, costumes, posters, ceramics, sculpture, video, sound, and archival materials, the exhibition highlights her holistic practice which dissolved the boundaries between home and stage, art and everyday life.

Beginning in the mid-1960s, Moki lived and worked between Sweden and New York, developing a radically interdisciplinary practice. Together with her partner, legendary jazz musician Don Cherry, they created immersive, joyful happenings under the banners of “Movement Incorporated” and “Organic Music.” Their collaborations entwined music, theater, performance, and visual art in experimental ways, forging hybrid audiovisual spectacles that challenged hierarchies in music and art, creating a total experience that defied genre. Shaped by an itinerant life, Moki’s work drew from global artistic traditions without being confined to a single cultural lineage, and explored themes of ecology, spirituality, feminism, and the home as both stage and subject. Bringing together some of her most significant works, The Living Temple: The World of Moki Cherry surveys how her radical, interdisciplinary vision proposed new models for creating, learning, and collaboration that continue to resonate today.

The Living Temple: The World of Moki Cherry is organized by Ars Nova Workshop in partnership with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia. The exhibition is curated by Mark Christman, Executive and Artistic Director, Ars Nova Workshop. The presentation at The Contemporary Austin is organized by Alex Klein, Deborah Dupré Head Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs, with assistance from Julie Le, Assistant Curator.

Special thanks to Naima Karlsson, Neneh Cherry, and the Moki Cherry Estate.

Moki Cherry

Moki Cherry (1943–2009) was a Swedish artist and designer who lived and worked in New York and Tågarp, Sweden. Her multidisciplinary practice spanned tapestry, painting, music, clothing, collage, sculpture, and ceramics. Born Monica Karlsson in Norrbotten, Sweden, Moki moved to Stockholm in 1962 to study fashion design and drawing, but life redirected her career towards a broader creative practice integrating painting, tapestry, costume, set design, and collaborations with her partner, jazz musician Don Cherry (1936–1995).

Moki’s artworks incorporate functional materials and traditional crafts, seen in her textile appliqué pieces, woodcarvings, paintings, furniture, and ceramics. Exploring themes of ecology, spiritual and environmental awareness, caregiving, and the home, she envisioned her art as a holistic way of life she described as “home as stage, stage as home.” Her interdisciplinary practice reached audiences through performances, workshops, schools, galleries, and even in her own home.

In 1963, Moki met Don Cherry in Stockholm during his tour with Sonny Rollins. Over the next two decades, they lived between Sweden and New York, raising their children and collaborating on projects such as Organic Music. In 1970, they purchased a former schoolhouse in Skåne, Sweden, which became a base for their semi-nomadic lifestyle. This space served as a creative and educational hub for their family, friends, artists, and musicians alike, embodying Moki’s belief in art as a shared lived experience. Over a career spanning four decades, Moki Cherry exhibited her work while dividing her time between Sweden and New York until her death in 2009.

Image: Moki and Neneh Cherry in their home in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, 1967. Courtesy of the Estate of Moki Cherry. Photograph by Sven Åsberg.

Acknowledgments

Major original support for The Living Temple: The World of Moki Cherry has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the Coby Foundation, the Pennsylvania Department of Economic & Community Development, the Robert D. Bielecki Foundation, and the American-Scandinavian Foundation.

The Contemporary Austin’s Exhibition Program is supported in part by Malú Alvarez, Annette Carlozzi and Dan Bullock, The Suzanne Deal Booth Curatorial Fund, Debbie Dupré and Richard Rothberg, The Irvin Loughlin Family Curatorial Fund, Chris Mattsson, The Lora Reynolds and Colin Doyle Curatorial Fund, and anonymous donors.  

Exhibitions and Programming are supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment and Still Water Foundation.  

Additional support for The Contemporary Austin is provided by the generosity of its Board of Trustees, Members, and donors. 

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