This episode of Artnet News's podcast "The Art Angle" re-airs an interview between host Ben Davis and curator and writer Elissa Auther, author of "String Felt, Thread: The Hierarchy of Art and Craft in American Art." They discuss the recent surge in interest in fiber art, from textile-based works at the Venice Biennale to the major traveling exhibition "Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction," which has just opened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Auther, chief curator at the Museum of Arts and Design, provides historical context on how tapestry was once as revered as painting and explains the factors driving the current boom.
The conversation matters because it highlights a significant shift in the art world's hierarchy, where fiber art—long marginalized as craft—is gaining institutional recognition and attracting new audiences. By examining the history and contemporary resurgence of textiles, the episode challenges the traditional primacy of painting and expands the vocabulary of what constitutes fine art, reflecting broader cultural and curatorial changes.