Private Pleasures: Collecting Contemporary Textile Art December 3, 2007

Collecting has played a central role in the shaping of art history as a discipline. 'Private Pleasures' highlights this aspect of the discipline through the display of contemporary textile art drawn from private collections in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The exhibition will explore both the individual preference of the collector and present the textiles as outstanding examples of the art form. This discussion will include the history of textile art from the mid-20th century to the present day and the genre's place in contemporary art history. Featured artists will include Olga de Amaral, Archie Brennan, Nick Cave, Nancy Crow, Peter and Jason Collingwood, Lia Cook, Ritzi Jacobi, Michael James, John McQueen, Jon Riis, Ed Rossbach, Cynthia Schira and Katherine Westphal, among others. The exhibition is curated by Rebecca A. T. Stevens, The Textile Museum's Consulting Curator for Contemporary Textiles.