Michelle Abbott
My practice pushes embroidery threads beyond their traditional sewing form to become a drawing and sculptural medium in their own right. For many years after graduating (1996) I was a painter - non-objective, large scale canvasses using oil and resin. In 2009 I started incorporating threads into my work - binding drawings together around concepts of connections. Threads quickly became my main medium, and in 2011 I was amazed to discover that my family lineage descends from generations of tailors from the East End of London – something I knew nothing about when first working with threads. In 2022 I was awarded the maximum ACE DYCP award to undertake a 3 month research project into the social/economic working lives of Victorian tailors in London’s East End, which has since propelled my work into a more 3D realm.
I work on several series’ concurrently, investigating communication, relationships, repetitive labour, social/political developments, domesticity and the perception of art vs craft. Threads as used as a drawing medium on paper on canvas, wrapped around vintage tapestry frames and sculptural forms, and strung between spaces and walls.
1991 - 1996 University of Edinburgh/Edinburgh College of Art MA Fine Art (Hons)
1999 - present Studio member at Phoenix Art Space, Brighton
2011 - 2013 Curator – outreach projects Phoenix Brighton
2022 ACE DYCP Award
2026 Resonance Exhibition Prize Winner – 1 year mentoring programme
Selected Exhibitions:-
2026 - Beyond The Studio, Main Gallery, Phoenix Art Space, Brighton
2026 - Out Of Line, Window Gallery, Phoenix Art Space, Brighton
2026 - Resonance, Fabrica Gallery, Brighton.
2025 - Atelier Open, Brighton, Group Show.
2025 - Pressing Matters, Printing with Virginia Woolf, University of Sussex.
2022 - WRAP Brighton, Group Show.
2016 - MIY Workshop, Brighton. Solo Show.
2016-2017 - Blithehale Medical Centre (in conjunction with the Whitechapel Gallery), London, Group Show.
2015 - Brighton Art Fair.
2013 - Freeze, Esapacio Gallery, London. Group Show.
2013 - The Other Art Fair, London.
2011 - Open Fridge, Brighton, Group show.
2011 - Moksha, Brighton, Solo show.
2011 - Golden Square, London, Group Show.
2004 - Brighton Art Fair.
2004 - Phoenix Gallery, Brighton, Group Show.
2003 - Phoenix Gallery, Brighton, Group Show.
2000 - JACs Gallery, London, Solo Show.
Other:-
May 2025 - Feature and Cover of Suboart Magazine
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