ARTIST STATEMENT
‘With Girded Loins’ is lovingly, intentionally, purposefully hand wrought uterine armor. We must be battle ready. I made it for our daughters and our granddaughters and our nieces and our friends and ourselves.
I’m a multidisciplinary artist of opportunity. I collect materials, experiment with techniques & pursue my curiosities. I’m an artist of second chances working with predominantly repurposed materials. I’m a nose-to-tail artist committed to using all of the scrap I generate. I consider my practice ‘artistic improv’ with a decidedly “Yes, and…” approach. I’m a textile artist, sometimes; a feminist artist, primarily; an experimental artist, always. I am constantly trying reconcile my deeply feminist outlook and leftist Berkeley education with my military upbringing. Every time the world speeds up, I react by slowing down– working more & more with my hands in an attempt to balance the universe. Subversive stitching as an act of rebellion.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Winnie van der Rijn is an award winning, multi-disciplinary artist of opportunity– collecting materials, experimenting with techniques and pursuing her curiosities. Her art practice includes textiles, sculpture, collage, wearable art and collaboration (which she considers its own art form). She plays well with others.
Winnie van der Rijn actively exhibits her work throughout the United States and abroad. In August 2022, she created a pop up museum – The Museum of Natural Consequences – to exhibit her project ‘How to Dismantle the Patriarchy- an iterative intervention into menswear’ in New York, NY.
A life long learner, Winnie graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989 with a BA in Sociology. She has studied printmaking, sculpture, metalsmithing and Marxist theory. In addition, Winnie has explored weaving, machine knitting, bookmaking, altars, exploding picture boxes, automata, shoe making, millinery, sewing, fusing, stamping, metal weaving, resin, riveting, precious metal clay and mixed media. She is wildly curious about how things are made.
Winnie has completed residencies at the Textile Arts Center (Brooklyn, NY), FABSCRAP (NY, NY) and Chateau d’Orquevaux (Orquevaux, France). In 2023, she is scheduled for residencies at Stay Home Gallery (Paris, TN) and MASSMoCA (North Adams, MA). Winnie, a seventh generation Californian, is currently based in Boston. She and her husband are redefining what it means to be empty nesters.
© Winnie van der Rijn