Hand Wash Only

Hand Wash Only
May 8-June 29, 2024

Curated by Tight Knit Group

Hand Wash Only explores the handmade, homespun, self-fashioned, and co-created practice of contemporary regional fiber artists. Skills and crafts that have been passed down through chosen and actual family lineages make way for a new generation of fiber artists with a common thread: if you can sew it, weave it, felt it, bind it, knit it, quilt it – it’s art.

Often most associated with quilts and other functional objects, fiber art is no longer limited by use, and the exhibited works in Hand Wash Only reflect a diverse range of techniques, interests, and materials, reflecting interdisciplinary approaches to sculpture, painting, ceramics, and more. The work is influenced by personal histories and family, and each artist has chosen an additional work from their fiber lineage to display too.

Hand Wash Only is a celebration of contemporary, interdisciplinary fiber art as well as its supporting traditions. In addition to the exhibition on view, Tight Knit Group will be creating a community gathering and workshop space at Holland with weekly meetings “Fiber Fridays” every Friday from 3-5pm, a yarn and supply swap on May 10, 3-6pm, an open call exhibition “Patchwork”, and various fiber workshops and demos throughout the course of the project.

Participating artists included: Rora Blue, Bailey Anderson, Ivy Guild, Eva Shipley, Jada Haynes, Joan Arrizabalaga, Melissa Melero Moose, Eunkang Koh, Ingrid Stumpf, Camryn Maher, Aiyana Graham, Cesar Piedra, Julia Novak, and Janett Kabeh.

Tight Knit Group is an informal gathering place for all those interested in fiber art/craft. Started in the Fall of 2022 by Ingrid Stumpf, Anna Newman, and Eunkang Koh, the group has grown and hosts fiber workshops, film screenings, and exhibitions, as well as a fiber show and zine titled Clothesline. Selections from Clothesline traveled to the Reno Tahoe International Art Show through the curatorial efforts of Camryn Maher. Although the scope of projects is ever-growing, Tight Knit Group remains at its heart, a small group of fiber-interested people who meet to share community, ideas, techniques, materials, food, and stories.

Hand Wash Only was part of the 2024 Curator Series | Photo Album | Related Exhibition: Patchwork