Elevating Fiber Art
In August, faculty member J Blackwell ’95 discussed their Neveruses artworks with Phaidon. Blackwell’s work elevates the cultural status of materials that might otherwise be considered garbage. The artist’s work is included in a new publication Vitamin T—a first-of-its-kind global survey of more than 100 artists, chosen by art-world professionals for their work with threads, stitching, and textiles. Blackwell recently had their work exhibited in a solo shows at Kate MacGarry in London and will have another solo show at the Bennington Museum in May 2020.
![Fiber art by josh blackwell](/sites/default/files/styles/visual_moment_1200_wide_/public/sources/visual-moments/blackwell_1_1200.jpg.webp?itok=o6LwVlxU)
![Fiber art by josh blackwell](/sites/default/files/styles/visual_moment_1200_wide_/public/sources/visual-moments/blackwell_2_1200.jpg.webp?itok=vUbFAcwa)
Within the Modernist paradigm textiles have been disparaged as pedestrian, feminine, ephemeral, queer, exotic, decorative, and/or superficial. Modernism’s troubled relationship to textiles is very interesting to me as a person who has faced similar dilemmas. I think textiles are compelling to me because I see parallels between their social history and my own daily life. J Blackwell ’95 speaking with Phaidon