Liz Collins
Metcalf Galleries
Introduction
Liz Collins: Motherlode celebrates the richly varied career and work of the New York-based Queer feminist artist known for her bold abstract patterns, inventive use of materials, and radical experiments with fiber. Over the past three decades, Collins (b. 1968) has excavated deep below the surface of established ways of making, bringing to light eye-dazzling creations that disrupt the boundaries between art, design, and craft.
From her early career as a cutting-edge fashion designer to her Knitting Nation performances to her recent large-scale installations, Collins has mined the textile medium for its ability to convey the textured complexities of power and intimacy. This exhibition, the first US survey of her work, brings together an unprecedented range of material, including large-scale sculptural work, fashion, needlework, drawings, performance documentation, and ephemera produced from the late 1980s until now.
–Curated by Kate Irvin, Costume and Textiles Department, RISD Museum
Press Coverage:
The Guardian - The most exciting US art exhibitions in 2025
The Design Release - Liz Collins: Motherlode
Interior Design - 10 Questions With… Liz Collins
ARTNews - 38 Museum Shows and Biennials to See This Summer
artnet – The Maximalist Vision of Liz Collins Comes to Life in a Bold New Survey
Kate Irvin
Liz Collins: Motherlode is made possible with funding from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Coby Foundation, the Robert Lehman Foundation, and the RISD Museum Associates, with publications support from Sunbrella, Glen Raven, Inc. Additional programming presented during the Motherlode exhibition is made possible by Gloria Spivak. In-kind donations to the exhibition have been made by Alkemis Paint and 4Spaces Gmbh|ZigZagZurich.
RISD Museum is supported by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with the generous partnership of the Rhode Island School of Design, its Board of Trustees, and Museum Governors.Liz Collins: Motherlode is made possible with funding from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Coby Foundation, the Robert Lehman Foundation, and the RISD Museum Associates, with publications support from Sunbrella, Glen Raven, Inc. Additional programming presented during the Motherlode exhibition is made possible by Gloria Spivak. In-kind donations to the exhibition have been made by Alkemis Paint and 4Spaces Gmbh|ZigZagZurich.
RISD Museum is supported by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and with the generous partnership of the Rhode Island School of Design, its Board of Trustees, and Museum Governors.
Exhibition images
