About

  • Statement

    Statement

    I create sculptural works of handmade textile that explore human and environmental relationships; How they gain from, form or respond to stress and disorder, and how the intentional gesture of my hand and body on the material engages these reactions. With an interest in material experimentation, I am deeply moved by the transformative qualities of wool and plant fibers, which, when plied correctly, parallel environmental transformations; Birth, fruition, decay.

     

    Material explorations at the center of the work combine the process of felting (in which wool fibers tangle to become textile through a rigorous process of agitation, creating a dense and matted textile) into unlikely materials that respond reversely (delicate woven fabrics, metal, found materials). The result is a complex textile that is dense and robust in one direction, sinewy with ethereal understructure in the other, with the warp threads being consumed into the wool, leaving only a fragile syntax.

     

    Free-hanging and wall mounted sculpture is formed from these textiles to evoke flowing water, changing landscape, and the body in motion. Energy flows through the organic forms and layers slowly reveal through shifting shadows on the undulating textile. They tell stories of human connection and our relationship to the environment, each following a thread revealed through the extensive process of creation.

     

    I experience these transformations physically, pushing two materials, one robust and one fragile, through an extreme process, resulting in an entanglement of divergent reactions. Pushing my body and hands to handle both simultaneously, discovering that I am (we are) equally robust and fragile.

     

  • Bio

     

    Kristy Kún (b. 1974, Omaha, NE) is an experimental textile artist exploring human and environmental relationships; How they gain from, form or respond to stress and disorder, and how the intentional gesture of hand and body on the material engages these reactions. Her sculptural and wall relief panels are a contemporary adaptation of felt making utilizing modern industrial textile equipment alongside traditional hand-work methods. Compositions reveal artistic visions inspired by relationships and evolution in nature, and the fluidity of the materials themselves.

     

    Kún forged her artistic mettle apprenticing as a woodworker and upholsterer during her early twenties while living in Arcata, CA. Dedicating thirteen years to building mortise and tenon constructed furniture from reclaimed wood, her respect for materials and craftsmanship in their reverential structure, is planted deep. Kún’s engineered layouts of complex joinery in fiber and finely detailed surfaces resonate with the craftsmanship of a fine cabinetmaker; While the organic forms that take rise from her hands capture a biomorphic fragility of the living world.

     

    Kún’s work is featured in public and private collections worldwide, from the Arcata, CA Community Health Center and Sister’s Oregon Public Library, to luxury housing and business centers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. She has taught her unique techniques through online and in-person classes, including workshops in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Slovenia, The Netherlands, and of course the US.

    Read more

    Kristy Kún and Christian Burchard are collaborators in life and work, each maintaining their private studios on the property where they live, sorrounded by the Siskiyou mountains in Southern Oregon. They are curious about various material processes and constantly looking for evolving approaches to their work, and  are connected through a shared passion for collaboration and enduring respect for material and each other’s practice.

  • CV

    Kristy Kún

    (707) 845-5348

    opulentfibers@me.com

    www.KristyKun.com

     

    born: 1974, Omaha, NE

    resides: Ashland, OR

     

    Solo Exhibitions

    2018    Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR

    2017    Lan Su Chinese Garden, Portland, OR

     

    Select Two Person and Group Exhibitions

    2025    Rogue Gallery, Ashland, OR • with Christian Burchard

                Peterson Contemporary Art, Bend, OR • with Alexandra Becker-Black

    2024    Gravers Lane Gallery, Philadelphia, PA • Bite Size group show

                Fiber Art Now, Eugene, OR • Fiber in 3D group exhibition in print

    2023    Momentum Gallery, Asheville, NC • with Christian Burchard

                Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR • with Greg Wilbur

                Momentum Gallery, Asheville, NC • Uncommon Threads group invitational

    2022    Maryhill Museum, Goldendale WA • Exquisite Gorge II: Fiber Arts

                Hanson Howard Gallery, Ashland, OR • with Christian Burchard

    2019    The Arts Center, Corvallis, OR • with Pete Goldlust

    2018    The Art Spirit Gallery, Coeur d’Alene, ID • The Great Clay Revival group show      

                The Ford Gallery • Portland, OR • Recycled Rain group show

    2017    Waterstone Gallery, Portland, OR • with Shawn Demarest

                Sitka Invitational • Portland, OR

    2016    Imogen Gallery, Astoria, OR • All Forms of Fiber group show

                Annmarie Sculpture Garden, Dowell, MD • Residency Artists group show

                Sitka Invitational • Portland, OR

     

    Awards

    2023    Grant Recipient • Haines and Friends • Ashland, OR

    2021    Finalist • Wood And… • Wharton Esherick Museum

    2019    Best in Show • Art in the Pearl • Portland, OR

    2018    Excellence in Fiber Art • Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show • Juror: Elisabeth Argo, associate curator of Modern and Contemporary Crafts and Decorative Art at PMA                 .

    2017    Finalist • Lydon Emerging Artist Program (LEAP)- Awarded by the Society of Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA

     

    Gallery Representation

    Peterson Contemporary Art • Bend, OR

     

    Select Featured Collections/ Commissions

    2025    Amaala Yacht Club, The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia

                Westhouse, Toronto, CA

                Carr Properties, Washington, DC

    2024    Community Health Center, Arcata, CA

    2023    Deschutes Public Library, Sisters, OR

    2022    Willamette Valley Vineyards, Dundee, OR

    2021    One at Palm Jumeriah, Dubai, UAE 

                The Watermark at the Pearl, Portland, OR

    2020    AC Hotel, Austin, TX

    2019    NW Natural, Portland, OR

     

    Mark Parker, Portland, OR

    Fleur Bresler, Rockville, OR

     

    Residencies

    2017    Leland Iron Works (PNCA)• Golden Spot Residency funded by the Ford Family

    2016    Annmarie Gardens • Artist’s in Action Residency • Dowell, MD

     

     

    Published

    2022    American Craft Magazine • essay and cover, Winter issue

    2019    Filz Fun • essay and technique tutorial

     

    Bibliography

    2023    Fiber Art Now • feature article and cover, Winter issue

    2017    A Viewer's Rorschach, with Kristy Kun, Hilary Perr

    2016    Zone Arts, Deborah Blakeley

     

    Service

    2015-2018    Frogwood • Board member, web designer. Frogwood is a 501c3 dedicated to arts training, education, and collaborative interaction.

     

    Teaching

    2016-2022    Self-produced advanced workshops in felting. online and in studio

    2019    Amsterdam and Slovenia, privately organized workshops

                The Netherlands, at Atelier Fiberfusing

                Australia and New Zealand, at Fiber Arts Takes Two

    2018    Nova Scotia, Canada, at Felt: feutre

     

    Fine Art/ Craft Juried Exhibitions

    2022    Smithsonian Craft Show • Washington D.C.

    2021    rt in the Pearl • Portland, OR

    2019    Art in the Pearl • Portland, OR

    2018    Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show • Philadelphia, 

                American Craft Council Show • San Francisco, CA

                Cherry Creek Arts • Denver, CO

                American Craft Council Show • Baltimore, 

    2017    American Craft Council • San Francisco, CA

    2016    Art In the Pearl • Portland, OR

                American Craft Council Show • San Francisco, CA

                American Craft Council • St. Paul, MN


    Related Self-Employment

     

    2010-17 • Portland, OR

    Opulent Fibers (Owner, operator)

    Retail and wholesale importer of wool and other fibers specifically suitable for spinning and felting. Hosted in-studio workshops with international instructors in the related arts.

     

    2009 -10 • Arcata, CA

    Hands on CRAFT (Owner, operator)

    Retail store and workshop space focused on fiber arts, traditional hand- craft and industrial arts, much in the spirit of Waldorf philosophy. Free community events provided regularly.

     

    1997-2010 • Arcata, CA

    Whit McLeod Furniture (Half owner, operator. Original hire as apprentice)

    Contemporary adaptations of Arts & Crafts furniture hand-crafted from reclaimed wood.

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