A Common Thread: Work of Artists from Textile Center (at Carnegie Art Center)

January 12 – February 18, 2023
Carnegie Art Center
Mankato, MN

Featuring the work of 37 Textile Center members whose work was a part of Textile Center’s 2021 and 2022 A Common Thread exhibitions

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120 S Broad St, Mankato, MN 56001

(Header image: Details from In my Garden by Lee Bradford and Beckoning Shore by Jan Marie Hayman)

A Common Thread: Work of Artists from Textile Center
Curated by Tracy Krumm, Textile Center & Robin Wingo, Carnegie Art Center

Selected from over 120 works from A Common Thread, Textile Center’s annual member exhibition, these 38 artworks from 37 artists collectively demonstrate depth and breadth in the practice of contemporary fiber art. Grounded in the materials and techniques of textile practices and histories, these works explore, expand, and honor the traditions of the medium.

Many of the works included in the show are familiar in the materials they use and their formats (pieced art quilts, for example) while they employ aspects of the discipline that make them unique, such as using hand dyed and shibori patterned fabrics. Wearable art works are created with found cloth and reclaimed materials, overlaid with imagery and texture created through botanical printing, hand felting, and stitching. Sculpture and wall pieces are produced through myriad surface design and construction processes, including printing, twining, weaving and interlacing, applique, and hand and machine stitching. The work employs materials in innovative ways that span everything from gut, leather, bark, and natural dyes to natural, synthetic, and salvaged fabrics. Form, imagery, and materiality are all inextricably linked to the content of the work and support the ideas that inspire these artists—from the playful to the personal including current events and the issues of the day—put together in exciting and innovative ways.

We hope you enjoy this show as much as we loved the collaborative process of selecting the work, laying out the installation, and putting it all together. A special thanks goes out to the artists for their thoughtful practices that produced these works and for generously lending to the exhibition.