Woolpunk...has the hands of a gifted artisan, the soul of a social activist, and the passion of an environmentalist.
--Hildreth York, Curator, Writer, Emeritus
Woolpunk featured on WNYC:
https://www.wnyc.org/story/woolpunk-montclair-art-museum/
Artist Bio
Woolpunk® is an American artist born in Summit, NJ in 1971. Woolpunk® employs materials and techniques sourcing women's work creation; historically, she machine-knits fiber installations, quilts sculptures, and embroiders photographs. Consequently, her work champions social change, addressing homelessness, foreclosures, water contamination, and deforestation. Referencing her unique stitching and use of fibers, she trademarked the name Woolpunk®, which she has been using creatively since 2004.
Most recently, the artist's public art installations, sculptures, and embroidered photos were on display in the World Trade Center Transit Lobby at the Oculus, the windows of Bergdorf Goodman, and the gallery at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In 2014, Woolpunk® founded the GIMME SHELTER PROJECT and hosted statewide community stitch-ins to bring awareness of the homeless increase in New Jersey. The stitch-ins created weatherized blankets donated to the PERC shelter in Union City, NJ; Parson's School of Design featured the project. She has received grant awards from Puffin Foundation, Goldman Sachs, and the Geraldine Dodge Foundation. Woolpunk's embroidered photographs and sculptures are in the permanent collections of the Liberty State Park, the municipality of Padula, Italy, Zimmerli Museum, Hudson County Community College Foundation Collection, Eileen Kaminsky Foundation Collection, and Montclair Art Museum, among others. Media highlights include Embroidery Magazine, Interweave Knits, Surface Design Journal, Hyperallergic, New York Times, State of the Arts, and WNYC's All Of It with Alison Stewart.
WOOLPUNK®
www.woolpunk.com
Born in Summit, New Jersey, 1971
Lives and works in Jersey City, NJ
EDUCATION
2001 Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, MFA
2001 Douglas College, Rutgers University, Gender Studies Certificate
HONORS
2024 Guest Speaker, Handweavers Guild of Colorado
2024 "Stand/ Fall II" Liberty State Park archive, Jersey City, New Jersey
2023 Guest Critic, Cornell University School of Architecture, NY
2023 "To Padula with Love" Padula Municipal archive, Italy
2023 Artist-in-Residence at Art Center Padula, Italy
2022 "Mass Stitchings: St John's" included in the
Eileen Kaminsky Family Foundation Collection
2022 Guest Speaker, All Of It With Alison Stewart, WNYC
2022 Guest Speaker, F.I.T Exhibit Panel, NYC
2022 Guest Speaker, Montclair Art Museum Activism Panel, Montclair, NJ
2022 Guest Speaker, KnittyGrittyJC, Guest Speaker, Jersey City. NJ
2021 Director of D.E.I for Cultural Affairs, Hudson County Community College, NJ
2021 Guest Speaker, HCCC Art in Context Series, Jersey City, NJ
2020 Featured in Essential Artist Series, Bravin Lee Programs, NYC
2020 WOOLPUNK® officially trademarked, USA
2020 Guest Speaker, Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ
2020 "Blue Carts & Barbed Wired" Montclair Art Museum Permanent Collection
2019 Guest Critic, Cornell University School of Architecture, NY
2019 Sponsored exhibitor at Art & Social Activism Festival, NYC
2019 Guest Speaker, Art & Social Activism Festival Panelist Series, NYC
2019 Sponsored Exhibitor Room, Art Fair 14C, Jersey City, NJ
2019 Invited exhibitor, New Jersey Arts Annual, Montclair Art Museum, NJ
2019 Guest Speaker, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ
2018 Foundation Collection Advisory Board, Hudson County Community College, NJ
2017 Advisory Board Committee, Jersey City Arts Council, NJ
2016 Director of Dineen Hull Gallery, Hudson County Community College, NJ
2014 Guest Speaker, Jerseyscapes, New Jersey City University, NJ
2012 "Grant Street Cleaners" Hudson County Community College Foundation Collection, NJ
2011 Woman of Action Award for PSE&G Mural Program, Jersey City, NJ
2010 “Pacific Court” Jersey City/Zimmerli Museum Collection, NJ
2009 _gaia Residency Program, NJ
2009 “Pacific Court” Collection of the Jersey City, Museum, NJ
2008 Invited exhibitor, New Jersey Fine Arts Annual, NJ, Jersey City Museum
2007 Guest Speaker with Paddy Johnson, Jersey City Museum, NJ
2007 Guest Speaker and Curator, Pace University, NYC
2007 Guest Panelist, Lateral Attitudes, Raritan Valley Community College, NJ
2005 New Jersey Public Radio State of the Arts: Artist of the Month
2005 Guest Panelist, Circa Craft, Jersey City Museum, NJ
2005 Invited exhibitor, New Jersey Arts Annual- Crafts, Jersey City Museum, NJ
2004 “Cast” Collection of Casaterra Residency Program, Puglia, Italy
2004 Geraldine Dodge and Fine Arts Work Center Grant Award, MA
2004 Casaterra Residency Program: Nomadic Poets, Ostuni, Italy
2004 Goldman and Sachs Arts Grant Award, NJ
2004 Puffin Foundation Artist Award, NJ
1999-01 Teaching Assistantship, Rutgers University, NJ
1994-95 Teaching Artist, RC Volunteers, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Stand/Fall II , Liberty State Park, NJ
2023 Sunflowers & Graffiti'd Sky, Montclair Art Museum, NJ, Gail Stavitsky, Curator
2022 Walking Palm at Bergdorf Goodman Windows & Fashion Week, NYC
2021 Ocufluent I & II, WTC 2 Transit Lobby at the Oculus, NYC, Presented by Port Authority
2020 MAGA ReDo, Monira Foundation at Mana, Jersey City, NJ, Ysabel Pinyol Blasi, Curator
2019 Rm 820,14C Art Fair, Hyatt Regency, Jersey City, NJ
2015 Gimme Shelter Project, Windows at Columbus, Jersey City, NJ, Eileen Ferrara, Curator
2014 Gimme Shelter Project, Owen Grundy Pier, Jersey City, NJ, Luca Cusolito, Curator
2013-14 Tornado II, South Mountain Conservancy Wildflower Sculpture Park, South Orange, NJ
2011 Love Your River Project, Pierro Gallery, South Orange, NJ, Sandy Martiny, Curator
2010 Interference, Lion Brand Yarn Studio, NY
2009 Waterfalls., Hunterdon Museum, Clinton, NJ, Mary.Birmingham, Curator
2008 Threads, Object and Thought Gallery, Denver, Colorado
2007 Knot Constructs, The Garage, Jersey City, NJ, Margaret Murphy, Curator
2006 Communal Ties, City Hall, Jersey City, NJ
2005 Bound, Jersey City Museum, NJ, Rocio Aranda-Alvarado, PHD., Curator
2003 Shroud Series, Salve Regina Gallery, Washington DC
2002 Re-Form, Brunswick Window, Jersey City, NJ, Roger Sayre, Curator
2001 Knitting Lessons, Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Art Fair 14C, Installation at Liberty State Park Terminal, Jersey City, NJ
2022 Fashion Week, Bergdorf Goodman, 6th floor, NYC
2022 Journal & Pattern, Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC, Austin Thomas, Curator
2021 Montclair Art Museum Annual Auction, Montclair, NJ, Gail Stavitsky, Curator
2021 Speedwell Projects Annual Auction, Maine, Curator, Juliet Karlsen
2021 RE:Growth, Riverside Park, NY, Karin Bravin, Curator
2021 Pause Remember Reflect, Treasurer Rm, Rockefeller Foundation, NY, Jen Roberts, Curator
2021 Recent Acquisitions, Montclair Art Museum, NJ, Gail Stavitsky, Curator
2020 Tiny Pricks Project at Culture House, Washington, DC, Diane Newmyer, Curator
2020 A Fractured Sigh, Bravin Lee Programs, NY, Charlotte B. Lee & Chiara Mannarino, Curators
2020 OUTDOORS, Monira Foundation at Mana Contemporary, NJ, Ysabel Pinyol Blasi, Curator
2020 Art Fair 14C, Jersey City, TFLR Contemporary, Brooklyn, NY
2019 New World Water, Seton Hall University, NJ
2019 Art & Social Activism Festival, NYC
2019 Mauled in America, Off Space, Canton Glarus, Switzerland, Fred Fleisher, Curator
2019 New Directions in Fiber Art, Montclair Art Museum, NJ
2019 Ingenious Prospects, Novado Gallery, Jersey City, NJ, Anne Novado, Curator
2018 Morir Sonando, Knock Down Center, NY, Alex Santana, Curator
2018 Maurice Sendak School Art Auction, NY, Chris Bors, Curator
2017 The Matrix, Old SUNY Westbury, NY, Fred Fleisher, Curator
2017 Quantum Overdrive, Hudson County Community College, NJ, Fred Fleisher, Curator
2016 La Storia, Casa Colombo Center for the Arts, NJ
2016 Contemporary Hudson, Hudson Community College, NJ, Laurie Riccadonna, Curator
2015 The Big Show, Art Factory, Paterson, NJ, Matt Gosser, Curator
2015 Threads, Art Factory, Paterson, NJ, Lillian Ribiero, Curator
2014 Jerseyscapes, NJCUniversity, NJ. Midori Yoshimoto, Curator
2012 Perception Shifts, Stockton University, NJ. Heather Gibson, Curator
2011-12 Value of Water, St John Cathedral, NY. Fredericka Foster, Curator
2011 Home, _gaia, NJCU University, NJ. Doris Cacoilo, Curator
2011 Aljira Auction, Aljira: A Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ
2010 Collective Consumption, Dumbo Arts Festival, C. Sexton & C. Vassallo, Curators
2010 Emerging Patterns, Arts Council of Morris, NJ
2010 Natural Selections, Greylock Arts, North Adams, MA
2010 (Re)Fashioning Fiber, Green Spaces, NY, Abigail Doan, Curator
2009 New Look, Same Great Taste, Jersey City Museum, NJ, Rocio Alvarado, PHD., Curator
2009 Uncommon Threads, Seton Hall University, Jeanne Brasile, Curator
2009 Money!, ABC NO RIO, NY, Vandana Jain & Doris Cacoilo, Curators
2008 Your Documents Please, Traveling exhibition: Arts & Crafts Museum, Japan; Galerie Kurt im Hirsch, Berlin, among others. Daniel Georges & Rumi Tsuda, Curators
2008 Of The Cloth, Shore Institute of Contemporary Art, Long Branch, NJ
2008 Sprawl, NJ Arts Annual, Jersey City Museum, NJ Rocio Alvarado, PHD., Curator
2008 Sculptoure, The Shore Institute of Contemporary Art, Long Branch, NJ
2007 Lateral Attitudes, Raritan Comm. College, NJ, Tom McGlynn, Curator
2007 Noah’s Ark, Shore Institute of Art, NJ. Brendan Carroll, Curator
2006 Faculty Exhibition, Newark Museum, NJ,
2006 The Sum of All Parts, The Hogar Collection, Brooklyn, NY
2005 (K)notes, NJCUniversity, NJ
2005 Contemporary Drawing, Brookdale Community College, NJ, Aaron Williams, Curator
2004 Nomadic Poets, Casaterra, Italy
2001 Trapeze, Swinging from the 80’s, Mason Gross Galleries, Rutgers University, NJ
SELECTED PRESS, FEATURES & PUBLICATIONS
2023 Artist Transformed Secondhand Donations..., Falyn Stempler, NJ Monthly
2022 Guest Speaker, All Of It With Alison Stewart, WNYC/NPR
2022 Sunflowers & Graffit'd Sky in the Garden State at MAM, Street Art NYC
2022 Journal and Pattern Continues .., ArtBreakout
2021 Ocufluent, World Trade Center, officialwordtradecenter.com
2021 Art Blooms in Nature… Hilarie M. Sheets, New York Times
2020 A Fractured Sigh featured in by Manuela Antonucci, lavocedinewyork.com
2020 Walking Palm featured in Perennial, Hudson County Community College
2019 Out of the Box podcast, Hudson County Community College
2019 I Can’t See the Stars featured @DailyTrumpet, Jonathan Horowitz, Curator
2019 New Directions... Exhibit Catalog, Montclair Art Museum, NJ
2018 Alex Santana: On Curating Morir Sonando..Jasmin Hernandez, gallerygurls.tumblr.com
2018 Morir Sonando, ARTnews, artnews.com
2017 The Matrix Long Island City University Exhibit Catalog
2017 Protest Quilt with Bazooka... Chris Barth, DailySoundandFury.com
2016 La Storia: Mazza, Riccadonna and Vitale, Paddy Johnson, artfcity.com
2016 Michelle Vitale…, ChichpeaJC, chicpeajc.com
2015 As Artists We Protest Everyday...Becky Nickolls, artistscribles.com
2015 Michelle Vitale.., Branding Podcast with Susan Newman
2015 Choosing a Community.., featured at Parsons School of Design
2015 Gimme Shelter Project, Push Pause, Verizon Fios Channel 1
2015 Gimme Shelter Stitch In featured on Channel 12 News
2015 A Stitch In Time Can..., Matthew Speiser, Jersey Journal
2015 Jersey City Artist.., Summer Dawn Hortillosa, Jersey Journal
2013 Colorful Life Returns to Jersey City, Brendan Carroll, Hyperallergic
2012 Value of Water, St John Divine Cathedral, World Policy Blog
2012 Value of Water, St John Divine Cathedral, Vimeo
2010 Woolpunk Extraordinaire, Abigail Doan blog
2009 New Meanings .., Sabrina Gschwandter, Interweave Magazine
2009 Family Skills.., Hildy York, Surface Design Journal
2009 Home Sweet Home, Jessica Hemmings, Embroidery Magazine
2009 Sprawl Exhibition Catalog, Rocio Aranda-Alvarado PHD
2007 This Is That, Patty Johnson, Art F City
2007 Lateral Attitudes Exhibition Catalog, Tom McGlynn
2006 Knots.. New York Times, Benjamin Genoochio
2006 (K)nots Exhibition Catalog, Michelle Vitale
2006 Circa Craft Exhibition Catalog, Rocio Aranda-Alvarado, PHD
2005 State of the Arts, NJN Radio, Peter Shea
2005 Taking Art to The Streets, Jersey City Magazine, Peter Zinsil
2005 Shrouds Series No 2, Featured in Puffin Foundation Catalog