Community Art with discarded textiles.

Textiel Plus magazine, Issue Spring 2024

Femke van Gemert, a former fashion and interior designer, now breathes new life into discarded textiles through her art. She embraces imperfection and the passage of time, crafting unique pieces that reflect the organic beauty of nature. In her commissioned works, she integrates personal or community textiles, adding a meaningful touch. Passionate about sustainability, Femke…

Anastasia Dzhupina

October 4, 2023

8 minutes

Artists, Interview

ART Hub Magazine

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“The work is both contemporary and ancient, going back to periods of poverty and hardship. Her critique on waste is akin to the beauty born of leftovers, in a melancholic mood. Scraps of sentimental encounters and intimate connections with other people’s lives and wardrobe put the discovery of other cultures at the core of the anthropological textile art of Femke van Gemert.”

— Lidewij Edelkoort, Bloom Issue 24, Earth Matters, 2018

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“The effect is magnificant en goes far beyond the crafty level. Her green tapestry reminds of a dense, impenetrable jungle. Her work is very labor intensive because she works exclusively with discarded materials that are not dyed again. Sometimes she needs to collect for months to get enough in a specific color”

— Emilie Escher, FD Persoonlijk, January 2013

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“A love for imperfection”

— Nanda Millenaar, TextielPlus, 2009

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Dream Weaver

— Jian Xiao, Mind Magazine, Issue 7, February 2014

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— PI, Project en Interieur, Oktober-November2016

Textiel Plus, 246, 2018

“Traces of Life.

-The fascination for discarded textiles came, when van Gemert as a child, grew out of her clothes. The awareness and need for sustainability grew for this artist with her love for nature. Already very young she became conscious of environmental problems.”

— Marta Karçol, Textiel Plus issue 246, 2018