Spaces Between

March 28–May 17, 2025
Artists’ Reception: Saturday, April 12, 6-8pm, during Second Saturday ArtWalk (open to the public)
Textile Talk virtual public program with Juror Akiko Kotani and exhibition award winners (TBA): Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 2:00pm ET *****Virtual program. Registration link coming late March!*****

Held in partnership with the Surface Design Association (SDA), this juried open-call exhibition features work by SDA and Florida CraftArt members at the Florida CraftArt exhibition space. Selected works build on the theme of Spaces Between, juried by Akiko Kotani.

Vision
Amidst a world in flux, Spaces Between brings together local, national, and international artists whose works that cultivate a deeper understanding of in-between spaces and what it can mean to navigate through and reside within them. Edges, thresholds, and borders—whether cultural, environmental, psychological, or physical—can be rigid or fluid, impermeable or frayed. Incredible richness exists in places of overlap, and astonishing webs arise where gaps have been stitched over. The interstices are sites of transition, transformation, and sometimes the piecing together of a new home.

Highlighting work made with a fibers sensibility, including traditional and cross-disciplinary materials, techniques, and practices, as well as experimental processes and material innovation, this exhibition reflects creatively on the spaces between.

Juror’s Statement

In the creation of a work of art, the “space between” has occupied a critical place in the search to reach my innermost image field. It is a space where energy is activated and exchanged between artist and matter, and an inanimate object is able to come alive. For many artists, this push/pull can result in a variety of lively discoveries. Tension is a prominent one. So is dialogue.

The artists who are included in this exhibition have utilized the idea of Spaces Between in myriad ways, from philosophical to technical. It was a revelation to discover how this powerful concept could result in such fascinating new interpretations. Included are glorious works that honor the tradition of fiber art with remarkable skill and beauty, alongside works by artists who are innovators, and those that push the boundaries of the medium. I hope you will delight in exploring each of the works in the exhibition and discovering those unique and intriguing Spaces Between.

Juror
Akiko Kotani, born in Waipahu, HI, received a BFA from the University of Hawaii and an MFA from Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA. Kotani’s work is held and exhibited in museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Baker Museum, Naples, FL; and the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio. During her career, she has received multiple prizes and honors, including the prestigious 2023 Florida Prize in Contemporary Art. Her recent exhibitions include Midsummer Suite at the Saga Prefectural Art Museum (Saga, Japan) and BURST, currently on view at the Chihuly Collection (St. Petersburg, Florida). Akiko Kotani is represented by Leslie Curran Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL.

Participating Artists
Kim Barge (Buford, GA), Helen Geglio (South Bend, IN), Jill Goldstein (New York, NY), Michele Hardy (Silverthorne, CO), Paule Hewlett (La Grange, TX), Dianne Hricko (Philadelphia, PA), Laurel Izard (Michigan City, IN), Helen Keogh (Canberra, Australia), Laili Lau (Brooklyn, NY), Ruta Lauciene (San Jose, CA), Susan Lenz (Central, SC), Ayelet Lindenstrauss Larsen (Bloomington, IN), Viviana Lombrozo (San Diego, CA), Tina Marais (Villeurbanne, France), Elaine McBride (Bridgewater, MA), Diane Meyer (Los Angeles, CA), Alysn Midgelow-Marsden (Tawharanui Peninsula, New Zealand), Marta Nowak (Jersey City, NJ), Alice Pickett Lewis (Gulfport, FL), Michele Heather Pollock (Columbus, IN), Libby Raab (Portola Valley, CA), Julie Reuben (Cambridge, MA), Joanna Rogers (Pender Island, Canada), Barbara Schulman (Bethlehem, PA), Jeanne Sisson (Northfield, MA), Rebecca Smith (San Diego, CA), and Michelle Williams (Wilmette, IL)

A big thank-you to our Presenting Sponsors for this exhibition, Mark Anderson and Keith Bucklew!

Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild Pop-Up Shop

In addition to Spaces Between in the exhibition space, Florida CraftArt will present a pop-up shop featuring work from members of the Tampa Bay Surface Design Guild (TBSDG) in the retail gallery. The Guild’s artists will also install hand-patterned textiles that encase the gallery’s four 14-foot columns!

TBSDG Pop-Up Shop Participating Artists: Kate Bird (Safety Harbor, FL), Debra Campbell (Tampa, FL), Jodi Doll-Bowling (Belleair Bluffs, FL), Kathleen Fulmer (Tarpon Springs, FL), Sara King (Clearwater, FL), Susan Lumsden (Brooksville, FL), Elizabeth Neily (Gulfport, FL), Ellen Nepustil (St. Petersburg, FL), Wes Reed (Lakeland, FL), Pauline Salzman (St. Petersburg, FL), Aida Sheets (St. Petersburg, FL), Mei-Ling St. Leger (Clearwater, FL), Peggy Wertheim (St. Petersburg, FL)

Downloadable Press Release

CUTLINES
1. Smith.jpg, Photo by Rebecca Smith
Whispers from the Past Trilogy: Rebecca Smith’s weavings explore transparency, revealing what lies beyond intricate patterns.
2. Lindenstrauss Larsen.jpg, Photo by Ayelet Lindenstrauss Larsen
Ayelet Lindenstrauss Larsen’s Ordered Chaos (Midday) captures the sensation of moving through layered spaces.
3. Lenz.jpg, Photo by Susan Lenz
Susan Lenz’s Cemetery Flags employs found objects to reveal human emotions, exploring loss, longing, and the potential for hope.
4. Lenz Cemetery Flags detail.jpg, Photo by Susan Lenz