Milwaukee artist Terese Agnew's latest project is causing a stir not just in arts circles, but among anti-sweatshop activists, labor unions and hundreds of average people in the United States and abroad who have had a hand in its making.

Agnew, known for her public sculpture projects and art quilts, is nearing completion of "Portrait of a Textile Worker," an 8- by 9-foot quilt made out of thousands of garment labels. Up close, viewers will see the names of familiar brands and designers. Stepping back, the various hues of the labels form the portrait of a young Bangladeshi woman at a sewing machine.

The woman is but one of millions of low-wage workers who toil in harsh and often dangerous conditions to make the products Americans buy and use daily. The labels form a physical link between sweatshop production and American consumption. Agnew collected them from hundreds of people who mailed them to her in response to the artist's request.

Political themes are not new to Agnew's work; earlier pieces have addressed themes such as urban sprawl. Agnew's latest project had its beginnings in a talk she attended by Charles Kernaghan, the president of the National Labor Committee, an activist group started by a Presbyterian minister.

"Portrait of a Textile Worker" reproduces a photograph shot by Kernaghan in a Bangladesh factory that makes clothing for an American chain store. In the neighborhood where this young woman lives, there is no running water, electricity or flush toilet. At the factory, employees get paid by the piece, working long hours at a frantic pace.

Quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kernaghan said of Agnew's quilt project, "[It] is about the best thing, the most powerful thing I have ever seen on sweatshops. It just stabs people in their souls. The ultimate beauty of it, the profoundness of it, is what will haunt people."

Wisconsinites will have a chance to see "Portrait of a Textile Worker" in person soon. The quilt will be on display from Jan. 28 to Feb. 12, 2005, at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield's Mitchell Park. It will be unveiled during an opening reception with the artist on Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. Space at the opening is limited; those wishing to attend should RSVP by calling 262-781-9470.

The quilt will be part of a larger exhibition called "Terese Agnew: A Retrospective" that will run from Jan. 10 to Feb. 25 in the Wilson Center's Ploch Art Gallery. The retrospective will feature prints, concept drawings and documents related to the process behind her sculptures and quilts. The Ploch Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Related events include a public forum led by Agnew on Feb. 2 at the Wilson Center called "Start with the Idea," and a dance workshop for kids age 8 to 12 on Feb. 5. The cost for the forum is $15 and the cost for the kids' dance event is $20. Those interested in registering for either should call 262-781-9470, ext. 5023.

After it leaves the Wilson Center, "Portrait of a Textile Worker" will travel to Madison's Overture Center for the Arts, where it will remain on view through March 13. Agnew will also be featured in 2005 on the Wisconsin Public Television program "In Wisconsin."

Now in her mid-forties, Agnew has attracted widespread acclaim for her art, winning both a 2004 Wisconsin Arts Board fellowship for visual artists and a Mary L. Nohl fellowship. Her work is included in the collections of the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

Her distinctive work fuses conceptual and political approaches to art with the painstaking handiwork often associated with "craft" mediums. Through a number of exhibitions and workshops in the coming months, more Badger State residents will have a chance to encounter and engage with Terese Agnew's provocative work.