The Stitch That Bit Back:
Venue: Newark Works ● BA2 3DZ ● click for map
Private View ● Fri 22 May ● 6pm ‘til late
Exhibition open 23 May to 6 June ● 11am - 6pm
The Stitch That Bit Back is a textile exhibition that refuses to sit quietly. Curated by Katarina Orolinová and Chloe Savage, the show brings together fibre works that challenge the long-held idea of textiles as passive, decorative, or confined to the domestic sphere. Here, thread becomes a tool for tension, resistance, and transformation—where softness carries strength and every material choice holds intent.
Across stitched, woven, sculpted, and experimental forms, the exhibition foregrounds practices that disrupt tradition and speak with urgency. Embroidery interrupts rather than embellishes; quilts question rather than comfort; lace sharpens into something more provocative. The works on display explore themes of resistance and repair, emotional labour, subversion of technique, and the uncanny or surreal qualities embedded in fibre.
Rather than adhering to a fixed theme, The Stitch That Bit Back unfolds as an open field of inquiry—where artists push, fray, and reimagine the boundaries of textile practice. Rooted in both heritage and forward-thinking experimentation, the exhibition highlights pieces that are quietly defiant or unapologetically confrontational.
This is textile art that doesn’t soothe—it challenges. Not softness for comfort’s sake, but softness with an edge.
Exhibiting Artists:
Alisha Stokes, Alison Cole, Alison Johnson, Amanda Hall, Anastasiia Ulianytska, Andi Gősi-Csata, Anna Dymond, Anna Hayward, Anna Muddiman, Aram Thael, Aran Illingworth, Arianwen Oldrige, Beata Gerbocová, Beth Cole, Beth Hart, Beth Williams, Blanka Cepkova, Brigitte Amarger, Caren Garfen, Carly Perahia, Carola van Dyke, Caroline Burgess, Cas Holmes, Catriona Murfitt, Ceren Muftuoglu, China Jordan, Chloe Savage, David Morrish, Deborah Hutchinson Russell, Deena Beverley, Denisa Horvajová, Edith Pargh Barton, Ellie Shipman, Emily Tull, Eszter Bornemisza, Eva Srubarova, Fleur Jones, Fox O Connel, Gerri O'Brien, Haf Weighton, Hannah Hill, Harpa Johsdottir, Helen McCookerybook, IIskren Lozanov, Jamie Chalmers, Janka Borova, Jenny Linnea Lantz, Jessica Devin, Jing Bai, Joanna Teague, Joanne Newman, June Lee, Katarína Beňušková, Katarina Orolinova, Kate Smith, Lara Tremeyne, Leanne Violet, Liu Qingran, Lizzie Hill, Lizzie Royle, Lola Bennet, Loren Batt, Louise Penrice, Lydia Needle, Mags Murphy, Manuela Caniato, Mary Butler, Michele Agnew, Mimi Hana Threads, Mirva Kuvaja, Monika Dobrovičová, Nela Kakalejčíková, Neroli Henderson, Nicky Ruddick, Olya Tereschuk, Paulína Bačová, Robert John Hodge, Romana Ashraf, Sadhbh Lawlor, Sally Baldwin, Sally Hewett, Sapphire Hendriksen, Sarah Gwyer, Sarah Harlow, Sarah Reece, Sophie Neville, Soraya Smithson, Stephanie Selck, Sue Green, Tanya Bentham, Tony Philips, Veronika Kocarikova, Victoria Mattherson, Viera Zubalová, Viktória Bakušová, Vlasta Zakova, Wendy Cotterall, Wendy Couchman, Zuzana Zmatekova.
Curated by Chlöe Savage and Katarína Orolínová
Curators Chlöe Savage (l) and Katarína Orolínová (r). Photo by Catherine East Photography.
Chlöe Savage is a multi-award-winning professional hand embroiderer trained at the École Lesage in Paris and the Royal School of Needlework, UK. Her work has featured on international catwalks with couture houses and in prestigious conservation projects.
Chlöe’s detailed embroideries are based on her own experience of Domestic Violence, its depiction in media and art, and its historical and legal contexts. Embedding hidden messages in Morse code and braille, her artwork embodies the insidious and often invisible nature of abuse.
insta @chloesavageartist
facebook.com/chloe.savage1
linkedin.com/in/chloe-savage-25329622
website cranberry-chihuahua-fs7d.squarespace.com
Katarina Orolinová is a Slovak-born textile and fibre artist trained at the Academy of Fine Art and Design in Bratislava. Through her studies and continuing practice she has exhibited internationally, and is currently retraining in couture embroidery in Bristol. Katarina’s work reinterprets embroidery and bobbin lace through contemporary materials, exploring geometric abstraction that shifts perspective and transforms ornament and embroidery into architectural form.
insta @katarina_orolinova_art
facebook.com/KatarinaOrolinovaArt
linkedin.com/in/katarina-orolinova-484a42b4