PRESS

AT A GLANCE

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SHORT BIO

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Claire Passmore is a contemporary textile artist whose work explores colour, texture, form, movement and the physical possibilities of fabric.

Working primarily with textiles, she combines traditional and contemporary techniques including dyeing, painting, stitching, appliqué, quilting, folding, pleating and sculptural construction. Her works often move beyond the conventional flat picture plane, using manipulated and folded fabrics to create depth, shadow and three-dimensional form.

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Her practice is informed by both textile traditions and contemporary abstract art. She is particularly interested in transforming familiar textile materials and processes into unexpected sculptural and visual forms.

SHORT ARTIST STATEMENT

I like to touch and hold fabric, feeling its weight, texture and structure, noticing how it sits, folds and twists in my hands. This direct, personal encounter with the material is central to my practice. I explore how fabric can be manipulated—scrunched, knotted, pleated, folded and stitched—to create soft sculptural volumes that can be connected into groupings, stacks and assemblages.

Transformation is at the heart of this process. I am interested in taking a familiar, pliable material and giving it physical presence, structure and volume, creating forms that can appear unexpectedly solid, rigid or architectural. I am fascinated by the physical challenge of engineering and coaxing fabric to behave against its natural tendencies, finding ways to make a soft, flexible material hold unexpected forms and structures.

Whenever possible, I work with rescued and discarded fabrics that are considered to have little or no further use. Through deconstruction and re-making, these overlooked materials are transformed and given renewed significance.

My process is slow and exploratory, drawing on origami, patchwork and quilting. Bold colour, stitch, embroidery and embellishment add dimension, while light and shadow accentuate the raised, folded and layered surfaces. My work occupies a space between textile and sculpture, softness and rigidity, inviting close looking and the impulse to touch.

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SELECTED 2026 EXHIBITIONS

Anchored - Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, New York, USA

Alouda Glacé - Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, New York, USA

Deep Dive - Caudan Arts Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius

AI: Artistic Interpretations - Louisiana State University Museum of Art, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Hot Stuff - BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown, Maryland, USA

Metamorphosis - Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, Mississippi, USA

Pollinating Paradise - International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas, USA

Watching and Waiting - Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, UK

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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Art Quilting Studio Magazine: Winter, 2026 →

Eos Magazine: Vol 105, No1. - January 2024 ​→
Issues in Science and Technology Magazine: Volume 41, No 1, Fall 2024 ​→
Johns Hopkins Magazine: Volume 75, No 4​, Winter 2023 ​→

Art Quilting Studio Magazine: Autumn 2023 →
Art Quilting Studio Magazine: Vol 13, Issue 2, 2021 →

Art Quilting Studio Magazine: Vol 13, Issue 1, 2021 → 

MEDIA & ENQUIRIES

Claire welcomes enquiries regarding her artwork, exhibitions, purchasing and professional opportunities.

Website → clairepassmore.com

Enquiries → Contact Claire Passmore

Press → Claire Passmore Press Page

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PRESS IMAGES & ARTWORK USAGE

Artwork images and other visual material may only be used with the artist’s express permission. Contact Claire if you wish to use any images.

For publicity purposes only, the three images below may be downloaded without prior permission.

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