Erin M. Riley, 2023
Photo by Kay Hickman
Erin M. Riley’s (b. 1985) meticulously crafted, large-scale tapestries depict intimate, erotic, and psychologically raw imagery that reflects upon relationships, memories, fantasies, sexual violence, and trauma. Collaging personal photographs, images sourced from the internet, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera to create her compositions, the Brooklyn-based weaver exposes the range of women’s lived experiences and how trauma weighs on the search for self-identity. In her review of Riley’s most recent solo exhibition with P·P·O·W, The Consensual Reality of Healing Fantasies, Roberta Smith of the New York Times wrote, “Her richly variegated colors and complex, arresting scenes take full advantage of tapestry’s stitch-by-stitch autonomy.” Riley received her BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and an MFA from the Tyler School of Art. Her work has been included in solo and group exhibitions at P·P·O·W, New York; Galerie Julien Cadet, Paris, France; Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden, Norway; The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY; Gana Art Gallery, Seoul, South Korea; MassArt Art Museum, Boston, MA; and UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles, CA; among others. Riley is the recipient of a United States Artists Fellowship Grant, 2021 and an American Academy of Arts & Letters Art Purchase Prize, 2021 and has completed residencies at MacDowell Colony, NH, and the Museum of Art and Design, NY. Her work was recently featured in 52 Artists: A Feminist Milestone at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, CT, manifesto of fragility, the 16th Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art, and Kingdom of the Ill at Museion, Bolzano, Italy. Riley presented her first solo exhibition with cadet capela, watering false flowers, in Paris, France in Fall 2024.
Erin M. Riley
b. 1985, Cape Cod, MA
Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY
Education
2009
MFA, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
2007
BFA, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Solo Exhibitions
2024
watering false flowers, cadet capela, Paris, France
The Invisible Third, UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles, CA
2021
The Consensual Reality of Healing Fantasies, P·P·O·W, New York, NY
2020
A Reminder of Being There, Jonathan Hopson Gallery, Houston, TX
2018
Used Tape, P·P·O·W, New York, NY
2017
Simple, Hashimoto Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
2016
18/bi/f/ma, Brilliant Champions, Brooklyn, NY
Anew, Hashimoto Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
2015
Darkness Lies Ahead, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY
2014
The Pain Comes in Waves, OGAARD Gallery, Oakland, CA
Crimson Landslide, Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA
2013
Undo, University of Wisconsin Gallery, Oshkosh, WI
In & Out, Paradigm Gallery & Studios, Philadelphia, PA
Show Me More, Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Erin M. Riley, The End is Near Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2012
Crush, Extension Gallery, Boston, MA
Forgotten in a File, Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011
Erin M Riley, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA
Jailbait, Sky High Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Graphic, Central Utah Arts Center, Ephraim, UT
2010
Erin M Riley: New Works, Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Daddy Issues, Helene Davis Gallery, Artspace, Richmond, VA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024
Designing Motherhood, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX (forthcoming)
Fabric of Life, Paul Smith Space Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Fibration: poking back, L’Space, New York, NY
Understory, Outer Space, Concord, NH
Life, Still, Casa Santa Ana, Panama City, Panama
FULL DISCLOSURE: Selections from the Thomas-Suwall Collection, The Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND
MALCRIADAS, Her Clique, Lisbon, Portugal
2023
The Myth of Normal: A Celebration of Authentic Expression, MassArt Art Museum, MAAM, Boston, MA
Barbarisms, Pequod Co., Mexico City, Mexico
Re-Materialized: The Stuff That Matters, kaufmann repetto, New York, NY and Milan, IT
Portraiture and Figuration in 21st Century Textile Arts, The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.
2022
Kingdom of the Ill: Second chapter of TECHNO HUMANITIES (2021 - 2023), Museion, Bolzano, Italy
Manifesto of Fragility, Biennale de Lyon 2022, Lyon, France
Where Words Falter: Art and Empathy, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
Material Knowledge, Arsenal Contemporary Art, New York, NY
52 Artists: A Feminist Milestone, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT
F*CK ART: the body & its absence, Museum of Sex, New York, NY
Line by Line, Kent State University School of Art, Kent, OH
Skin in the Game, curated by Zoe Lukov & Produced by Abby Pucker, Chicago, IL
2021
Skin in the Game, curated by Zoe Lukov, Palm Heights, Miami Beach, FL
we’re not meant to do this alone, Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD
TEXTiles, Bookstein Projects, New York, NY
IRL (In Real Life), Timothy Taylor, London, UK
2020
Shag: Provocative Textiles, The Nashville Art Scene, Nashville TN
BLUNT, Galerie Julien Cadet, Paris, France
myselves, curated by Joshua Friedman, Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
New Visions: The Henie Onstad Triennial for Photography and New Media, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Norway
1988, curated by Easy Otabor, Anthony Gallery, Chicago, IL
Never Done: 100 Years of Women in Politics and Beyond, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
2019
Reflections, Gana Art Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Textus Ex Machina, aqb Project Space, Budapest, Hungary
Strangers in Town, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin, GE
Group Show, Galerie Julien Cadet, Montpellier, France
Time Bomb, Wadstrom Tonnheim Gallery, Marbella, Spain
2018
Complicated Territory: Alex McQuilkin, Erin M. Riley, Martha Tuttle, Dorsky Gallery, Long Island City, NY
Today's realism / Réalisme d'aujourd'hui, Galerie Julien Cadet, Paris, France
Weaving New Worlds, William Morris Gallery, London, England
2017
NSFW: Female Gaze, Museum of Sex, New York, NY
28th Annual MassArt Auction, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Feminine Product, The Void Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016
Winter Group Exhibition, P·P·O·W, New York, NY
Winter Group Exhibition, Brilliant Champions, Brooklyn, NY
Winter Group Exhibition, Athen B. Gallery, Oakland, CA
Frieze London, P·P·O·W, Regent’s Park, London, UK
Juxtapoz x Superflat, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Fertile Solitude, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA
From Life, Galerie Manqué, Brooklyn, NY
Juxtapoz x Superflat, Pivot Art + Culture, Seattle, WA
You Can Call Me Baby, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York, NY
Landline: Works in Fiber from Coast to Coast, Praxis Fiber Workshop, Cleveland, OH
Here and Now, The National Center for Craft & Design, Lincolnshire, UK
Here and Now, The Holburne Museum, Bath, UK
2015
KITH: HOMAGE, Miami Beach, FL
Miami Project, Hashimoto Contemporary, Miami Beach, FL
Soft Core, Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred University, Alfred, NY
Fresh Brew, Stephanie Chefas Projects, Portland, OR
I Know You Know, curated by Tim Strazza, Kinfolk, Brooklyn, NY
Summer Show, Hashimoto Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
Vroom, Vroom, Outlet Fine Art, Brooklyn, NY
Scenic Route, Paradigm Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Data Flow: Digital Influence, Town Hall Gallery, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia
2014
Narcissism and The Self Portrait, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY
December Exhibition, Galerie Wolfsen, Aalborg, Denmark
Summer Mixer, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY
Invitational Small Works, Textile Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY
Reality Loop, VEST Gallery, Aarhus, Denmark
Competition Team, Eric Schindler Gallery, Richmond, VA
2013
Texas Contemporary – Art Fair, West Collection booth, Houston, TX
Culture Cache, Joseph Gross Gallery, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Bones, Center Center, Milwaukee, WI
2012
Hemmed In, MK Gallery, Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, UK
Blank Land, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
Tropico Post-Apocalyptic, Extra Extra Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Recalibrations, Gross McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Optical Fiber, Space 1026 Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2011
Woven Stories: Exhibition of Contemporary Tapestries, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY
Oye Chica!, The Mission Projects Gallery, Chicago, IL
Myself, Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery at the University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, NV
2010
Cutting Edge: A Celebration of Fibers, Textile Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY
Re-invent, Re-interpret, Re-make, Town Hall Gallery, Hawthorn, VIC Australia
Residencies
2018
The Corporation of Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY
The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH
2015
Museum of Art and Design Artist Studios, New York, NY
2012
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA
Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE
2011
Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
McColl Center for Visual Art, Charlotte, NC
2010
The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH
Emmanuel College, Boston, MA
Awards
2021
United States Artists (USA) Fellowship Grant, Chicago, IL
2012
Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation Grant, New York, NY
2011
Vermont Studio Center Artist-in-Residence Full Fellowship, Johnson, VT
Kittredge Foundation Grant Recipient, Cambridge, MA
2009
Best in Show, Radius 250, Artspace, Richmond, VA
Project Completion Grant, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA
2008
Graduate Academic Tuition Assistantship, Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA
2007
Graduate Academic Tuition Assistantship, Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA
Marilyn Pappas Award, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2006
Barbara L. Kuhlman Foundation, Inc. Fiber Scholarship, Willet, NY
2005
Barbara L. Kuhlman Foundation, Inc. Fiber Scholarship, Willet, NY
Public Collection
The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
Bibliography
2022
Alfred, Brian. “Erin M. Riley.” Why I Make Contemporary Art: Contemporary Artists’ Stories About Life & Work, Atelier Editions, 2022, pp. 257-263.
Bardaouil, Sam, and Till Fellrath, editors. Manifesto of Fragility: The Many Lives and Deaths of Louise Brunet, Silvana Editoriale, Milan, 2022, pp. 254-255, p. 97.
Bertolotti, Isabelle, et al., edotirs. "Erin M. Riley." Manifesto of Fragility: Guide, Silvana Editoriale, Milan, 2022, pp. 254-255.
2020
Zaiden, Emily, “The New Nowness of Tapestry,” CODA, America Tapestry Alliance, 2020: 3–7.
2018
Treggiden, Katie, Weaving, Ludion Publishing, Belgium, BE, 2018.
Krysa, Danielle, Big Important Art Book (Now with Women), Running Press Adult, New York, NY.
Fateman, Johanna, "Erin M. Riley P.P.O.W." The New Yorker, July 2, 2018: 8-9.
Chillida, Gisela, "Tejiendo Píxeles" La Maleta De Portbou, Julio/Agosto 2018: 69.
Kettle, Alice and Millar, Lesley, The Erotic Cloth, Bloomsburg Publishing, London, UK, 2018.
2017
"Erin M. Riley" Gross Magazine, Volume 2 Sink or Swim, 79 - 85.
2016
Tulsa, Cheyenne, "Zeitgeist-Gewebe" Material Girl Magazine Spring/Summer 2016: 60-61. Print.
Janowitz, Neil, "Looming Changes" American Craft Magazine June/July 2016: 34-36. Print.
2015
Santibanez, Tamara, “Erin Riley” Interviews, Discipline Press January 2016: 1-6. Print.
Slenske, Michael, “Art Talk: Knots Landing” The Wall Street Journal Magazine September 2015: 98. Print.
Baritaux, Zio, Strange Plants II, Zioxla, March 2015. Print.
Barry, Ramona and Jobson, Rebecca, The Craft Companion, Thames & Hudson.
Australia Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia. October 2015. Print.
2014
Newhouse, Sam, “Weaver finds the beauty in sexy selfies” Metro New York City December 10, 2014: 8. Print.
White, Rachel R., “Dream Weaver” Playboy Magazine December 2014: 29. Print.
The Graphic Art of the Underground: A Countercultural History, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, UK. May 2014. Print.
New American Painting, no. 110, juror Al Miner, February/March 2014: 126-129. Print.
Stouffer, Hannah, “Erin M. Riley” Juxtapoz Magazine February 2014: 78 – 85. Print.
It’s Nice That Annual 2013 by Company of Parrots, London, UK. Print.
2013
Martin, Lois, “Body Gazing.” Surface Design Journal, Summer 2013: 28 – 33.
2012
Lotto Magazin. Places and Locations Issue, English/German, July 2012: 315-321. Print.
The Textile Artist’s Studio Handbook by Visnja Popovic and Owyn Ruck, Quarry Books, Beverly, MA. May 2012: 161. Print.
2011
O’Toole, Meighan, “Fishbowl.” Foam Magazine August/September 2011: 36. Print.
Levine, Faythe. “Caught in the Web.” Fiberarts Magazine 22 March 2011: 32 – 33. Print.
2010
Pardi, Lou. “Re-Invent Re-Interpret Re-Make.” Beat Magazine 4 August 2010: 31. Print.
2009
New American Painting, no. 81, juror George Kinghorn, April 2009: 128-131. Print.
2008
“2008 Student Showcase.” Fiberarts Magazine November/December 2008: 45. Print.
Lectures
2018
Visiting Artist, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
Visiting Artist, University of Cincinnati School of Art, Cincinnati, OH
2017
Visiting Artist, University of Boulder, Colorado, Boulder, CO
First Friday Lecture Series, Kent State University, Kent, OH
2015
Visiting Artist Lecture, Alfred University, Alfred, NY
2012
Visiting Artist Lecture, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Visiting Artist Lecture, University of Nebraska, Omaha, Omaha, NE
January Art Talk, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
2011
Visiting Artist Critique, UNCC Fibers Department, Charlotte, NC
Artist Talk: Artistic Freedom, North Georgia College & State University, Dahlonega, GA
Weaving Demo, North Georgia College & State University, Dahlonega, GA
2010
Visiting Artist Talk, Senior Seminar, MassArt and Design, Boston, MA
Artist Talk, Freshman Foundation
Erin M. Riley
Training Wheels, 2024
wool, cotton
79 x 48 ins.
200.7 x 121.9 cm
Erin M. Riley
First Light, 2023
wool, cotton
83 x 100 ins.
210.8 x 254 cm
Erin M. Riley
the neighbors can hear everything, 2022
wool, cotton
48 x 44 ins.
121.9 x 111.8 cm
Erin M. Riley
Why Now?, 2021
wool, cotton
95 x 100 ins.
241.3 x 254 cm
Erin M. Riley
An Accident, 2020
wool, cotton
82 x 100 ins.
208.3 x 254 cm
Erin M. Riley
Believe Me, 2020
wool, cotton
100 x 94 ins.
254 x 238.8 cm
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Brooklyn-based tapestry artist Erin M. Riley has been weaving pieces that speak on issues faced by women for over ten years. Her work addresses dark themes, raising awareness and promoting recovery for those who have faced issues including violence, self-harm, objectification, or are struggling with their sexuality. Many of her tapestries are based on personal experience, imagery that she has plucked directly from her camera roll, or photos she has come across online.
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This past September, the state of Texas enacted the most restrictive abortion ban currently in effect in the United States. The law, Senate Bill 8, prohibits abortions as early as six weeks into the pregnancy—a time period in which most women are unware they are even pregnant. The state’s sweeping legislation also makes no exceptions for people who are victims of rape or incest. The bill is part of a national agenda to end access to abortion across the U.S., including the landmark case Roe v. Wade, which the Supreme Court could possibly overturn—triggering bans in 26 states to go into effect within months.
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Since finding in tapestry weaving her unique way of self-expression, Brooklyn-based artist Erin M. Riley has been presenting to the world intimate yet relatable pieces that perfectly expose the reality and feelings of a society stuck between the physical and virtual worlds.
In “The Consensual Reality of Healing Fantasies,” an exhibition of tapestries by the fiber artist Erin M. Riley current open at PPOW Gallery in New York through June 12, the scars of childhood trauma are laid bare.
Riley’s work positions front and center everyday images of women’s lived experiences, unapologetically centering traumas often swept out of sight.
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Joan Semmel’s unabashed self-portraits; Erin M. Riley’s handwoven tapestries; and Kathleen Ryan’s “bad fruit” sculptures.
PPOW Gallery // May 07, 2021 - June 05, 2021
Plus, check out shows including artists such as Dominique Fung, Erin M. Riley, Arghavan Khosravi, Josie Love Roebuck, and others.
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