Artist Reinterprets the Traditional Pastime of Embroidery

    Zoe Gilbertson admits she’s always had an interest in textiles. A fashion designer by trade, her embroidered paintings explore the intersection between the handmade and the digital.

    “Fashion and textiles are interconnected, and this has led to my interest in textile art,” said Gilbertson in an interview with Textile Artist. “I don’t consider myself a textile artist, although I am often defined as such. I’d prefer to be regarded as a contemporary artist who uses textile materials to create art.”

    However she wants to define it, the result is equally striking, with her artwork combining wool, spraypaint, and tapestry canvas to create an alternative interpretation of a traditional pastime. “My work has evolved in many directions,” says Gilbertson. “I’ve experimented with color, voids of stitching, ways of framing, methods of stitching and design processes.”

    Aside from her artwork, Gilbertson also works as a performance sportswear designer and fashion lecturer. Based in Cambridge, UK, she admits to connecting her work with memories. “All my work contains fond memories, usually of moments in time with family and friends that are captured within the canvas,” she says. “I can usually remember what was going on in my life at the time of stitching a particular work.”

    Take a look at some of her embroidered pieces in the gallery below: