I met Moki Cherry in 1969 when she and Don were living in Vermont. Jon Appleton, a professor in the Music Department of Dartmouth College, had invited Don and Moki to come to the United States and teach a course for the spring term.
Later, I went to Sweden where I spent part a summer living with the family in Stockholm during the Utopias & Visions 1871-1981 exhibit at the Moderna Museet and traveling to Tågarp just after they had purchased the schoolhouse. These pictures are from that period.

Early Life and Education

Monika Marianne Karlsson was born on February 8, 1943, in Koler, a small town in Norrbotten, Sweden’s far northern region. Her parents, Verner Karlsson and Marianne Karlsson, were from opposite ends of Sweden – her father was from Skåne in the south and her mother from Norrland in the north. Verner worked as a station master for the railway company, while Marianne ran the local post office. The family moved frequently throughout Sweden as Verner was posted to different stations.

From an early age, Moki displayed an independent spirit and a deep connection to nature. She was absorbed by the world of animals and the natural environment, preferring to spend time in the forest rather than with other children.

After leaving school in 1959, Moki apprenticed at the Haute Couture Atelier Anna-Greta Blom before working as a design assistant with Vera Öhrn at Distingo, a women’s coat and suit manufacturer in Kristianstad. In 1962, she moved to Stockholm to study fashion design, illustration, and pattern-cutting at Beckman’s School of Design (now Beckmans College of Design).

Meeting Don Cherry and Early Artistic Collaboration

In 1963, while still a student, Moki met American jazz trumpeter Don Cherry at Gyllene Cirkeln (The Golden Circle) in Stockholm, where he was performing with saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Don was already recognized as one of the leading figures in American avant-garde jazz, having been a key member an innovative quartet that shook up American jazz in 1959 (The Ornette Coleman Quartet).

Artistic Practice and Philosophy

Moki’s artistic practice was inherently interdisciplinary, encompassing textiles, painting, sculpture, ceramics, collage, set design, and costume creation. Her work was characterized by bold colors, organic forms, hybrid creatures, and spiritual symbolism drawn from various cultural traditions including Indian art, Tibetan Buddhism, African aesthetics, and Scandinavian folk art.

Textiles and Tapestries

Moki’s textile work became her signature medium, born out of practical necessity. Living a nomadic lifestyle with Don and her family, she found that fabric was lightweight, transportable, and versatile. She could “roll it up, put it in a couple of duffel bags” and carry her studio anywhere. Her large-scale textile appliqué tapestries served multiple functions: as stage backdrops for Don’s performances, album covers, as educational tools for children’s workshops, and as independent artworks displayed in galleries.

Major Exhibitions and Recognition

Moderna Museet Stockholm (1971)

One of Moki’s most significant early exhibitions was at Moderna Museet Stockholm in 1971, as part of the Utopias & Visions 1871-1981 exhibition. Pontus Hultén, the museum’s director, commissioned Don and Moki to create an installation which was housed in a Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome. Moki created artwork which defined the performance space, which was used to gather artists and musicians from Europe and beyond.

From 1977 onward, Moki split her time between Tågarp (the family home near Malmö) and Long Island City, New York, maintaining her connection to both her Swedish roots and the international art community. She continued to exhibit regularly, with solo shows in galleries across Sweden, the United States, and Europe.

Personal Life and Family

Moki’s personal life was inextricably linked to her artistic practice. Moki successfully balanced motherhood, artistic practice, and professional collaboration. She said about the challenges: “I was my husband’s muse, companion and collaborator. At the same time, I did all the practical maintenance. I was never trained to be a female, so I survived by taking a creative attitude to daily life and chores.”

Legacy and Rediscovery

Moki Cherry died on August 29, 2009, in her Tågarp home. For much of her lifetime, her contributions were overshadowed by Don’s fame and the gendered biases of the art world toward textile work. However, the period following her death has seen a resurgence of interest in her work.

Major retrospectives include Moki Cherry: A Journey Eternal at Moderna Museet Malmö (2023), the most comprehensive presentation of her work to date, and Moki Cherry: Here and Now at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2023), her first solo exhibition in a UK institution.

These exhibitions have been curated in collaboration with her granddaughter Naima Karlsson, who has become a key advocate for her grandmother’s legacy.

Writing and other media about Moki’s work and life

Moki’s work abounded in color. These articles and web pages have reproductions which often do justice to her chromatic sensibilities.

Adesina, Precious. “Moki Cherry: The Overlooked Swedish Artist Who Created a ‘Soulful Home,'” January 1, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20231222-moki-cherry-the-overlooked-swedish-artist-who-created-a-soulful-home.
Carsel, Casey. “Moki Cherry’s Art and Life Remembered,” September 29, 2021. https://ocula.com/magazine/spotlights/moki-cherrys-art-and-life-remembered/.
Compton, Gemma. “Moki Cherry – Here and Now. – Blog.” Gemma Compton, February 6, 2024. https://www.gemmacompton.com/blog/2024/2/6/moki-cherry-here-and-now.
Denman, Tom. “Moki Cherry at the Juncture of Art and Life.” ArtReview, August 22, 2023. https://artreview.com/moki-cherry-at-the-juncture-of-art-and-life/.
“Don and Moki Cherry’s Organic Dreams Made Real.” National Public Radio, June 18, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/06/18/1007252382/don-cherry-and-moki-cherry-organic-music-society.
“Don Cherry — Brown Rice (LP, Brown Vinyl) — Soundohm.” https://www.soundohm.com/product/brown-rice-lp-brown-vinyl.
E-flux. “Don and Moki Cherry: Organic Music Societies, Alexander Kluge: Minutenfilme #3 – Announcements,” February 8, 2022. https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/438577/don-and-moki-cherryorganic-music-societiesalexander-kluge-minutenfilme-3.
E-flux. “Moki Cherry: A Journey Eternal – Announcements.” https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/557927/moki-cherrya-journey-eternal.
Krasinkski, Jennifer. “Krasinski_Artforum_Cherry.” ArtForum, June 1, 2021. https://www.blankforms.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/Krasinski_Artforum_Cherry.pdf.
Larsen, Lars Bang. “Moki Cherry Exhibit at Galleri Nicolia Wallner, Copenhagen.” Nicolai Wallner (blog), April 7, 2022. https://nicolaiwallner.com/exhibition/moki-cherry-2/.
Moderna Museet I Malmö. “A Journey Eternal.” https://www.modernamuseet.se/malmo/en/exhibitions/moki-cherry/a-journey-eternal/.
Moderna Museet I Malmö. “From Norrbotten to New York.” https://www.modernamuseet.se/malmo/en/exhibitions/moki-cherry/from-norrbotten-to-new-york/.
Mokicherry.com. “About Moki Cherry.” https://mokicherry.com/about.
Mokicherry.com. “Moki Cherry Exhibitions.” https://mokicherry.com/exhibitions.
Neneh Cherry, Naima Karlsson + More on Moki Cherry’s Life, Love and Work as an Artist and Mother | ICA Infrequencies, 2023. https://shows.acast.com/ica-infrequencies/episodes/moki-cherry-home-as-stage-stage-as-home.
NOBA Nordic Baltic Contemporary Art Platform. “Moki Cherry Exhibit in Malmö.” https://noba.ac/en/exhibition/moki-cherry.
Psimikakis-Chalkokondylis, Laonikos. “Imagine! Play! Learn! – By Evie Ward.” Sound and Music (blog), August 31, 2022. https://soundandmusic.org/post/imagine-play-learn-by-evie-ward/.
Reeves, Chris. “A Praxis of Art and Life: A Review of Moki Cherry at Corbett vs. Dempsey | Newcity Art a Praxis of Art and Life: A Review of Moki Cherry at Corbett vs. Dempsey,” September 15, 2021. https://art.newcity.com/2021/09/15/a-praxis-of-art-and-life-a-review-of-moki-cherry-at-corbett-vs-dempsey/.
Russonello, Giovanni. “A Fresh Look at the ‘Organic Music’ of Moki and Don Cherry..” Jordan News, April 30, 2021. https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-117/Culture-Arts/A-fresh-look-at-the-organic-music-of-Moki-and-Don-cherry-2283.
Snoekx, Kurt. “Home Is Where the (He)Art Is: Argos Revisits Don & Moki Cherry’s Organic Music Society,” December 2, 2022. https://www.bruzz.be/en/culture/art-books/home-where-heart-argos-revisits-don-moki-cherrys-organic-music-society-2022-02-11.
Tolhurst, Sophie. “Rediscovering Swedish Designer and Artist Moki Cherry.” Design Week, June 9, 2023. https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/05-june-09-june-2023/swedish-designer-artist-moki-cherry/.
Walton, Millie. “Burlington Contemporary – Reviews,” August 23, 2023. https://contemporary.burlington.org.uk/reviews/reviews/moki-cherry-here-and-now.
Ward, Evie. “Mobile Aesthetic Environments.” Moderna Museet I Malmö. https://www.modernamuseet.se/malmo/en/exhibitions/moki-cherry/mobile-aesthetic-environments/.