The Unintended Beauty of Textiles

On View: Wednesday, March 4 - Friday, April 10, 2026

First Friday Reception: March 6, 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Fiber artists often remark about how they like the backside of their work better than the front side that they planned, designed, and labored over. The backside of fiber arts pieces are often quite beautiful in an unexpected, unintentional, and raw way. In this exhibit textile artists will be invited to show two pieces - one piece shown with the intended side visible, and the other piece shown exposing the backside. 

These artists each work with important themes such as identity, gender, race, invasive species, immigration, war, memory, ecology, etc. and although a great deal of thought, planning, and research go into their pieces, sometimes it is important to pause and appreciate the messy and unintended beauty of its making.  The world is intense and exhausting these days, and I'm hoping that this exhibit will encourage visitors to pause, slow down, and look at the beauty that presents itself in unexpected places and ways. 

All of the artists invited work with reclaimed textiles: found fabrics, repurposed clothing, old quilts and garments, etc. They use a number of techniques including cyanotype printing, stencil and block printing, embroidery, mending techniques, transfer techniques, and eco-printing, combined with traditional stitching techniques.

Curated by Jody Alexander.