Artists
-
INTERVIEW WITH ALVARO DIEGO GOMEZ CAMPUZANO
| by Barbara Pavan | Alvaro Diego Gomez Campuzano was born in Bogotá in 1956 and graduated in Architecture and Landscape from Javeriana University in the same city in 1978. Since then, he has embarked on a continuous artistic journey that has led him to exhibit in international exhibitions and institutional venues in various countries. In this interview, he generously shared insights into his relationship with fibers and techniques, his sources of inspiration, and the genesis and evolution of his works. Alvaro, thread and fabric have been materials for your work since the 1970s. What led you to this choice? I have ever considered textile as an artistic expression. Fabric…
-
MICHAEL SYLVAN ROBINSON
Michael Sylvan Robinson’s art and queer activism are expressed through the innovative use of textile collage and text-based art techniques. Their process begins with the selection of textiles characterized by intricate patterns, which are then reassembled into complex textile collages, densely worked with machine and hand stitching, as well as bead applications. Originally a costume designer and performance artist, Robinson’s practice later evolved into a deep exploration of wearable art, two-dimensional works, sculptures, and installations. In these works, the dimensional aspect is heightened by meticulous surface details that invite the viewer to engage with a broader conceptual structure. The sculptural garments and wearable art from their #urbanfey series serve as…
-
JACQUELINE SURDELL
| by Maria Rosaria Roseo | Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois (USA), where she currently lives and works, Jacqueline Surdell is a young woman of many talents—first a professional athlete and later an artist, with a background from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Fiber and Material Studies in 2017. Family heritage plays a significant role in Jacqueline Surdell’s work. Her love for art and conceptual practice was passed down to her by her grandmother, a landscape painter. Her passion and interest in materials, their history and origin, and various processing techniques, on the other hand, were inherited…
-
INTERWEAVINGS OF ART AND SCIENCE: THE ARTISTIC JOURNEY OF A CONTEMPORARY WEAVER
| by Maria Rosaria Roseo | Rachel (Meyers) Hefferan, an artist from suburban Midwest, USA, graduated from the University of Michigan and earned her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She currently lives and works in rural western Michigan. A weaver, farmer, environmentalist, and fermentation enthusiast, Hefferan uses the loom as a metaphorical tool, balancing between science and magic, to create tapestries—woven abstractions that represent and celebrate the beauty and complexity of microbial life and its process of decomposition and renewal of matter. Mosses, lichens, fungi, and molds, with their metabolic activities of transformation and deconstruction, are the primary sources of inspiration for the artist. Through…
-
IN SYMBIOSIS WITH MOTHER NATURE: THE ART OF TRACEY DEEP
| by Barbara Pavan | Tracey Deep is one of the most refined and original voices in contemporary Australian art, whose artistic journey is intrinsically tied to a profound and spiritual connection with nature. Over more than twenty-five years, Deep has woven her artistic path with a personal and deep vision of the natural world, recognizing it not only as a material but as a true muse and mentor. Her artistic practice unfolds through a continuous exploration of the potential offered by native Australian plants and other organic materials, which she employs to create floral sculptures and environmental installations capable of evoking a strong sense of harmony and balance. From…
-
THE LIVING AND ACTIVE ART OF PATRIZIA BENEDETTA FRATUS
| by Barbara Pavan | With Indre and the Medee project—her two most recent interventions—Patrizia Benedetta Fratus (Palosco, 1960) reaffirms her commitment to participatory art, exploring and seeking new individual, social, and political relational dynamics as alternatives to those experimented with so far. An artivist active for years on both the national and international scene, Fratus has always been convinced that art represents a tool for transformation and evolution, both on an individual and collective level, with significant social and political implications. She favors the use of discarded materials to create works and interventions that actively engage those who contribute to their realization, making them an integral and living part…
-
GISELLA CHAUDRY
| by Barbara Pavan | Gisella Chaudry was born in Palermo in 1989 and has been living in Turin for several years. Growing up in a family shaped by the fusion of two cultures—her Pakistani father’s and her Sicilian mother’s—nurtured in her a profound sensitivity toward themes of identity and social disparity, which are central to her artistic research. Her practice is an inquiry into the human condition, an attempt to reconnect with the primordial roots of existence through a visual language that explores the relationship between the individual and the cosmos. The artist employs diverse techniques, including combustion, embroidery, and installation—tools through which she constructs narratives suspended between reality…
-
TERESA PUIG – MUTABLE ESSENCE
| by Elena Redaelli | Teresa Puig is a Spanish artist living and working in Norway. Her work is based on a close observation of space; she pays attention to the ephemeral and transitory aspects of the natural world. She refers to her works as “scenarios,” spatial installations in which she combines projected images, lights, and objects made of paper, threads, textiles, and natural elements. Her work spans from drawings and photography to the latest developments in traditional textile techniques, such as weaving, hand knotting, and natural dyes from local sources. Teresa has been travelling a lot, and her practice bears influences from different cultures. “My latest work is textile-based,…
-
MIRIAM MEDREZ
| by Barbara Pavan | Miriam Medrez was born in Ciudad de México in 1958. After studying Art and Graphic Design at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, she graduated in 1979 in Fine Arts at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (ENAP-UNAM). Fundamental to her development as a sculptor were the courses taught by Gerda Gruber, who imparted not only technical skills in clay manipulation but, more importantly, encouraged her students to regard material as a sculptural artistic language — liberating ceramics from its dependence on two-dimensional imagery and traditional painting. It was through ceramics, on the other hand, that Medrez learned the…
-
MARTA NERHUS: WHEN METAL BECOMES THREAD AND STORY
|by Elena Redaelli | Marta Nerhus, a Norwegian textile artist, seamlessly challenges the boundaries of material and expression from her studio at USF Verftet in Bergen. She is currently engaged in a new commission, having won a competitive selection process, to decorate a church in Klepp, Rogaland, which is set to be completed in October 2026. In recent years, she has curated the exhibition program at Galleri Banken in Ølve, where she held a solo exhibition in 2023. If you wish to get an introduction to Marta Nerhus’ work and artistic vision, you can find a brief portrait of her in the American documentary Knit with Love, which explores the…
