# Kandy Lopez's Yarn Portraits Challenge Viewers

> Kandy Lopez's large-scale yarn portraits at ACA Galleries invite viewers to see people of color in new ways.
- Title: Kandy Lopez's Yarn Portraits Challenge Viewers · ABC7 New York
- Summary: Kandy Lopez's large-scale yarn portraits at ACA Galleries invite viewers to see people of color in new ways. Kandy Lopez's exhibition Taking Up Space…
- Keywords: kandy lopez, aca galleries, taking up space, yarn portraits, chelsea manhattan, art exhibition, fiber art, people of color, news, local, Kandy, Lopez's
- Source: ABC7 New York — https://abc7ny.com/post/yarn-scale-swagger-shine-kandy-lopezs-exhibit-aca-galleries-manhattan/19871207
- Published: 2026-09-25T17:49:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: kandy lopez, aca galleries, taking up space, yarn portraits, chelsea manhattan, art exhibition, fiber art, people of color, news, local
## Kandy Lopez's New Exhibit
Kandy Lopez's solo exhibition Taking Up Space opens at ACA Galleries in Chelsea, featuring large-scale fiber portraits that challenge viewers to see their subjects differently.

> I want you to be in a room where all the subjects are staring at you
## Yarn Portraits Reveal Details
Close-up reveals yarn on hook rug mesh creating portraits that appear as paintings from a distance.

> I think the shape of the eyes is a perfect guide to moving down and across the face, so if the eye shape is not correct, it's not going to look like the person
## Lopez's Painting Background
Lopez learned to paint in middle school using watercolors, an experience that later influenced her current artistic practice.

> It was a way of teaching us a way to see light and how to see texture and reflection
## Oversized Portraits for Impact
The portraits depict real people of color with 'swag' or something magical about them and are intentionally oversized up to 14 feet.

> You go to Europe and see these beautiful paintings in churches, and they are massive, and as a visitor you're looking up at it, and that's what I want for people of color
## Lopez's Personal Reflections
Lopez, a mother of two and associate professor of Art and Design in Florida, described the success of her work as a 'pinch-me moment' and very thankful.

> It's been a pinch-me moment, so I think a lot about being blessed, ancestral energy, very, very thankful
## Donated Yarn for New Life
Lopez incorporates donated yarn, including family heirlooms, into her artwork, giving the yarn a new life.

> I'll get like grandma's or great-grandma's yarn, so I have given this yarn a new life
## Key takeaway

Kandy Lopez's exhibition Taking Up Space features oversized yarn portraits that challenge viewers to see people of color through a new lens.