BIO

Kara Patrowicz is a fiber artist who has exhibited throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the U.S. Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland. She has had solo exhibitions at the Chester Beatty Library in Ireland, and Fruitlands Museum and ArtsWorcester in Massachusetts.

Her next solo exhibit, “Kara Patrowicz: The Sally Bishop Prize” will take place at Worcester Art Museum from August 1-November 1, 2026.

She has been a Fulbright Grant recipient in Painting to Ireland, a Finalist in Crafts for the Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellowships Program, and winner of the Sally Bishop Prize at the 21st ArtsWorcester Biennial. She has taught art courses at the university-level and served as an Artist-in-Residence at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her academic achievements include an M.F.A. (2-D Media) from MassArt, a Post-Baccalaureate (Studio Art) from Brandeis University, and a B.F.A. (Painting) from Boston University. She lives and works in Maynard, Massachusetts with her husband and three young children.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Felting is an ancient method of creating textiles and has become central to my art practice. It blends wool into dense, matted fabric with hot water, soap, and agitation, or with needle-tools. Nomadic communities throughout the world have used felt for warmth, shelter and ornamentation. My background in figurative painting shapes my approach to these techniques, as well as tapestry weaving, embroidery and fabric applique. I want my fiber paintings to reflect the ordinary, tender, often invisible ways the labor of caregiving shapes the world around us. I have three young children, and these early, intensive years of parenting inspire my domestic family scenes. I felt pieces by hand and in my washing machine, and upcycle cast-off materials like burp cloths, dryer lint and crib sheets. In this way I seek to honor the states of exhaustion, vulnerability and yearning that can accompany motherhood. Through subjects like doodling children or wedding rings, my work hints at the intersection of ritual and play, monotony and delight in fundamental human relationships.