Excellence in Fibers VIII

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September 15, 2023 - January 7, 2024

Excellence in Fibers is an annual juried exhibition from Fiber Art Now magazine. Out of the exhibition’s 40 artists featured in the magazine’s Winter 2023 issue, 16 artists selected by guest curator Demetri Broxton are exhibited at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Featuring works from the past four years, these artists showcase contemporary innovation through their techniques while working to address the most pressing issues of present-day society. 

“Fiber is a fascinating material for an artist to engage as their primary medium – it simultaneously connects to ancient forms of art making and functional craft as well as new and exciting forms as evidenced by the works selected for the Excellence in Fibers exhibition.”
— -Demetri Broxton, Curator of Excellence in Fibers VIII

From abstract to representational, many works are created through the traditional processes of quilting, embroidery, crocheting, and sewing while interacting with plants, ceramics, photography, and aluminum. Through their unique approaches, these artists demonstrate different ways that personal messages and voices- especially those representing immigrant, underrepresented, and marginalized identities- can be translated through fiber art into something that can be seen, felt, and understood by people of all ages and backgrounds.

Dating from 2019 to 2023, the selected artists come from diverse backgrounds, representing a variety of races, cultures, ethnicities, ages, genders, and geographic locations. These artists push the boundaries of fiber art as a medium while engaging with their own challenges. Many personal and intimate, nuanced narratives are placed within the broader themes of feminism, war, diaspora, immigrant identity, mental health, death, disability, and nature. Thus, the boundaries between self and society, individual and community, public and private are blurred in order to reveal the many ways in which individuals are affected by their society, and in turn, the ways individuals can affect society, most notably through the fiber arts. 

Gallery image credits, in order of appearance: Katayoun Bahrami, Woven Journey, 2022, courtesy of the artist; Suganda Gupta, Terrain, 2022, courtesy of the artist and Iwonka Piotrowska; Hattie Lee, Corona Crazy, 2022, courtesy of the artist; Lynne Dees, Fish Trap #2: Catch O' the Day, 2020, courtesy of the artist;  Kerstin Bruchhaeuser, You May Recognize Yourself, 2022, courtesy of the artist.

About Demetri Broxton, Guest Curator for Excellence in Fibers VIII

Demetri Broxton (he/him) is an independent curator and practicing artist, and the Senior Director of Education at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, CA. An Oakland native, Broxton has over 20 years of experience working in the fields of education and the arts. At MoAD, he leads the education programs to connect youth, educators, and the public to the historical, cultural, and intellectual contributions of the worldwide African Diaspora.

Previously, Broxton served as a curator for the City of Berkeley (2013-2020). He holds an M.A. in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University and a BFA from UC Berkeley in Art Practice. His artwork has been exhibited internationally and most recently at MarinMOCA, Chinese Historical Society of America, UNTITLED Art Fair in Miami, and Patricia Sweetow Gallery in LA. Broxton’s artwork is held in several private and public collections and most recently his work has been acquired by the Monterey Art Museum and the de Young Museum. He is represented by Patricia Sweetow Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.